"When I go on dates with my boyfriend, we stop by a drugstore to check out the latest Korean cosmetics. I was happy to win the entry for this event, visit the booths of K-beauty brands I'm usually interested in to enjoy the events, and receive full-size products and samples."
At 11 a.m. on 4th at Ariake Gymnastics Stadium (GYM-EX) in Tokyo, Japan, at MEGA COSME LAND 2025, Suzuki Aoi, 22, said, "My skin tends to be dry, so I often buy sheet masks. It was impressive that the venue handed out a lot of masks," noting that the light purple eco bag she received on entry was filled with K-beauty brand sample products.
MEGA COSME LAND 2025 is a large-scale offline beauty festival hosted by eBay Japan. Following last year, this year's event was held for the second time and did not sell tickets separately. Instead, applications were accepted by lottery from Qoo10 Japan users, the Japanese e-commerce platform operated by eBay Japan. As many as 200,000 people applied during this process. A representative of eBay Japan said, "We selected 20,000 people through a random draw system."
A total of 54 brands are participating in this year's event. Of these, 51 are K-beauty brands, notably Anua, Laneige, TirTir, VT COSMETICS, SKIN1004, Medicube, CNP, and Foodology. In particular, a separate booth was set up to let visitors try products from brands featured in Mega Debut (a fostering project for emerging K-beauty brands). An "Insaengnecut" photo booth and giveaway/tasting booths for K-food leaders Nongshim, Samyang Foods, and CJ CheilJedang were also set up.
Although the event began at 10 a.m., each brand's booth was packed within about an hour. Takahashi Misaki, 29, who said she came up early in the morning from Osaka, said, "For skincare, I use Korean products 100%. I carefully read ingredient lists, and the ingredients are really good," adding, "I can feel my skin becoming softer right away, so I can't help but keep using them."
Miura Miku, 36, who came with her 7-year-old daughter, said, "I've been a fan of Innisfree's Green Tea line for four years. It's especially gentle enough that I want to recommend it to my daughter," adding, "This is my second time after last year, and every time I come, it's appealing that I can try K-beauty products firsthand and also receive samples."
Suzuki Hiroko, 51, who uses VT COSMETICS and Foodology products, said, "I don't like gaining middle-age weight, so I care just as much about what I take as what I apply," adding, "I was curious about other K-beauty brands too, but there were so many people that I only went to the booths I really wanted to visit. I plan to just fill all the Mega Kit stamps and go home." The Mega Kit, which collects K-beauty brand samples, could be obtained in exchange by getting stamps after participating in events and games at the booths.
There were many male consumers on site as well. Okuda Ren, 32, said, "I mainly use Medicube skincare products, but I didn't know Medicube also released at-home beauty devices," adding, "I tried them at the booth for the first time and could understand why Korean people have good skin." Yamamoto Daiki, 44, said, "My wife likes Amuse's color cosmetics and I like MA:NYO's skincare products, so we stood in separate lines for those booths," adding, "I also saw reviews saying Anua's products are good, so I plan to check them out."
K-beauty brand officials at the venue seemed buoyed by the enthusiastic response of Japanese consumers. An official at Anua said, "As more Japanese consumers carefully check ingredients, we're feeling our strength as a 'clean beauty brand,'" adding, "Following last year, this year our age range has diversified, with men and women in their 40s and 50s visiting our booth in addition to our main customer base of women in their 20s and 30s."
A Medicube representative said, "Many customers came wanting to try at-home beauty devices or hear explanations, not just about skincare products," adding, "The popularity in Korea seems to be spreading to Japan."
A Foodology representative said, "This is our first time participating as an inner beauty brand, and there was strong interest in protein and diet supplements. However, unlike cosmetics, which you can apply on the skin and feel the effect right away, there's still a long way to go in Japan," while adding, "We will work harder to raise awareness of K-beauty's inner beauty in a market where cosmetics are dominant."
eBay Japan sees this event as an extension of its e-commerce platform growth strategy. Kim Tae-eun, eBay Japan Deputy Minister of Growth Support, said, "Unlike Korea, Japan's e-commerce market is only now growing explosively, and Mega Cosme Land is a strategic stage that directly connects the spread of K-beauty," adding, "Building on last year's No. 1 in beauty e-commerce, we are working to establish an overwhelming lead offline as well."
Takao Yoshida, eBay Japan head of public relations for Korea and Japan, said, "We will continue to serve as a bridge to widely promote K-beauty brands in Japan."