While the domestic hiring market has generally contracted, the K-beauty industry is an exception, showing a boom. As it accelerates its expansion into global markets away from a domestic demand–dependent structure, it is strengthening recruitment of specialized talent targeting local consumers and counterparties in each country.
According to related industries on 13th, Korea's cosmetics exports in the first half of this year reached about $5.5 billion (about 7.5 trillion won), setting a record high for a first half. The figure is up 14.8% from a year earlier, with quarterly growth also accelerating in the first quarter (12.7%) and the second quarter (16.8%). Major export destinations were China ($1.08 billion), the United States ($1.02 billion), and Japan ($550 million), while in Europe, Poland, France, and the Netherlands posted double-digit growth rates.
On the back of strong exports, major corporations such as COSMAX and APR are expanding recruitment of entry-level and experienced hires, focusing on overseas sales and marketing roles. COSMAX Group, aiming to achieve 3 trillion won in sales, has moved to secure talent linked to the expansion of subsidiaries in emerging markets such as North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia, while APR, with 75% of its total sales generated overseas, is selecting local marketers in 13 countries.
Emerging K-beauty contenders such as Goodai Global, The Founders, and d'Alba Global are also speeding up the recruitment of globally specialized talent across North America, Japan, Europe, and the Middle East. Not only tailored roles like Japan offline distribution, North America sales, and global social marketing, but also hiring of creative experienced workers has increased significantly. Goodai Global's headcount rose from 50 last year to 130 this year, and The Founders aims to hire more than 100 global professionals this year. APR's headcount stood at 620 as of the end of the second quarter, up 24.5% (122 people) from a year earlier (498).
Across the industry, there is an assessment that high-caliber talent from recession-hit sectors such as information technology (IT), fashion, and advertising is moving into beauty, raising the level of the talent pool. Despite weak domestic demand and economic uncertainty, the K-beauty industry is simultaneously recording a global talent acquisition race and employment growth.
Corporations are also strengthening compensation systems in line with their pace of growth. APR's average employee salary in the first half was 75 million won, up 51% from the same period a year earlier. Goodai Global is actively recruiting experienced hires by offering preferential terms over previous workplaces. There is a widespread sense of "price-tag inflation," intensifying competition in salaries and benefits across the industry. According to the hiring platform Kokonggo, K-beauty corporations prefer talent with experience in overseas markets such as North America, Japan, and Southeast Asia.
The distribution platform sector has also joined the race to secure K-beauty talent. Kurly is hiring a double-digit number of experienced workers in key roles such as beauty MD and platform strategy and planning, based on its partnerships with roughly 1,000 beauty brands. The strategy is to strengthen the competitiveness of the "Beauty Kurly" brand through talent acquisition.
A beauty industry official said, "As K-beauty's global expansion shifts into full gear, the competition to secure talent with language skills, local sensibilities, and creative marketing capabilities will not cool for the time being," adding, "The inflow of high-caliber talent from recession-hit sectors is positively affecting the upgrading of the hiring market and the sophistication of the industry, and unlike in the past, experienced and professional talent is actively flocking to indie brands."