Korean skincare in Europe — what sells in Poland, Czechia and Hungary, and buying direct from Korea

K-beauty has moved from specialist shops into mainstream drugstores and pharmacies across Central Europe. Here is what recent reports from each country say.

Poland

• Drugstore sales of Korean cosmetics were about PLN 330 million, growing more than 60% a year. Brands named include Beauty of Joseon, Biodance, medicube, Anua and TIRTIR (Wiadomości Kosmetyczne, 6 July 2026).
• The fastest-growing products are sheet masks (up 25% a year) and serums (up 19%), along with toner pads and high-SPF sunscreens (dlahandlu.pl, 5 July 2026).
• The drugstore chain Hebe published a K-beauty catalogue in October, built around PDRN, cica and snail-mucin products (wirtualnekosmetyki.pl, 15 October 2026).

Czechia

• Notino's K-beauty category grew 63% from January to August, and its K-fest event sold out 3,000 tickets. Anua, Beauty of Joseon, SKIN1004 and COSRX are among the brands it sells (Vogue CZ, 6 October 2026).
• Beauty of Joseon outsells Nivea in Czechia, and imports of Korean cosmetics have grown more than tenfold in five years (Edaily, 26 May 2026).
• The pharmacy chain Dr.Max sells around 500 Korean products as a separate category (Seoul Economic Daily, 6 October 2026).

Hungary

• Imports of Korean lip makeup grew about twelvefold, from $13,000 to $157,000 (Global Korea Post, 26 July 2026).
• About 70% of adults take supplements, and Korean collagen has its own shelf category (Global Korea Post, 25 September 2026).
• More than 17,000 people visited Korea Day in Budapest, and imports of Korean food and cosmetics rose 126% (Herald Business, 15 June 2026).

What usually doesn't reach the shelf

A European shop stocks what its importer chose to bring in, labelled for the EU market. New launches, larger or smaller sizes, and the bundle sets Korean stores sell for a few weeks at a time often never arrive. Prices are set locally, after import, distribution and the retailer's margin.

Decide whether buying from Korea is worth it

1. Find the exact product, size and version you want. A link to the Korean store page (Olive Young, or the brand's own shop) is the most precise way to pin it down.
2. Compare the full cost: the Korean price, plus shipping to your country, plus any import VAT and handling fee charged on arrival. Parcels from outside the EU can be charged VAT when they arrive.
3. Check the label. Products bought in Korea come with Korean packaging. If you need ingredients in your language, keep the Korean name so you can look them up.
4. Order several items at once. Shipping one parcel with several items usually costs less per item than several small ones.

Send us the product links from Korean stores, with the quantities. We buy them on our Korean account, put them in one parcel, and ship to Poland, Czechia, Hungary or elsewhere in Europe. If something is sold out or a set has changed, we ask before switching.

The service fee is ₩8,000 per link. Shipping and card fees are in your quote, and you see the full price, including shipping, before paying, so you can compare it with what you'd pay at home.

A customer with a long Olive Young list asked whether we could take a bulk order a week before they arrived in Korea and have it all waiting when they landed. We said yes: we receive the items as they come in, hold them together, and deliver everything for the day they arrive. The same works the other way round, for a parcel to send home.