Korean Skincare Label Decoder
The brand name is in English. Everything that tells you what the product actually is — category, skin type, sunscreen filter, what it targets — is in Hangul. Here are 45 of those words.
Works in Hangul, in romanisation, or in English.
- 스킨seukinToner (older name)
Same shelf as 토너. Korean brands used 스킨 for decades and many still do — it does not mean an astringent.
- 토너toneoToner
A watery hydration layer, patted in rather than wiped off. Not the stripping kind sold in the West.
- 에센스esenseuEssence
Thinner than a serum, thicker than a toner. The category boundaries are brand-decided, not legal.
- 앰플aempeulAmpoule
The most concentrated of the three, usually in a small dropper bottle and sold as a short course.
- 세럼sereomSerum
- 로션rosyeonLotion (light moisturiser)
In Korea this means a thin moisturiser, not body lotion.
- 크림keurimCream
- 에멀전emeoljeonEmulsion
Another word for a light moisturiser. Sits between toner and cream.
This explains what each word means, not what a product will do for your skin. Claims about results are regulated in Korea, and we would rather translate the label accurately than tell you something we are not in a position to promise.
Reading the ingredient list
The back of every Korean product carries 전성분 — the full ingredient list, in standardised Korean names, ordered by quantity. Here are the ones you will meet most often.
We don't reproduce whole ingredient lists here, and that is deliberate: they differ by product and change whenever a formula is reworked, so a copy kept on this site would eventually be wrong about something you are putting on your face. The names themselves are standardised by the Korea Cosmetic Association, whose dictionary is linked above and is the source that stays current. Read the 전성분 on the product itself, then look up anything you need to check.
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The three words worth learning first
수분 (subun) — water. The most common word on Korean skincare, and the organising idea behind most of it. A 수분 product adds water; a 보습 (moisturising) product holds it in. Korean routines tend to layer several thin 수분 steps rather than one heavy cream.
유기자차 (yugi-jacha) — chemical sunscreen. If you have tried a sunscreen that left you grey and given up, this is the word you were missing. Korean sunscreens are mostly chemical-filter and famously light; 무기자차 is the mineral kind that leaves a cast.
기능성화장품 — functional cosmetic. A registered designation, not a slogan. Only brightening, wrinkle care and UV protection qualify, so seeing it on a box tells you which of those three the product was filed under.
Reading a bottle in Olive Young
Front of the bottle: brand (English), product category (한글), and often the skin type it is aimed at. Back: 전성분 is the full ingredient list, 용량 is the size in ml or g, 사용기한 is the use-by date — Korean products print an actual date rather than the open-jar symbol used in Europe.
The shelf tags are worth reading too. Prices in Olive Young change constantly with promotions, so the tag under the product, not the sticker on it, is the price you pay.
Common questions
What's the difference between 토너, 에센스 and 앰플?
Thickness and concentration, in that order — toner is watery, essence is slightly richer, ampoule is the most concentrated and usually comes in a small dropper bottle. The boundaries are decided by each brand rather than by any standard, so two products labelled 에센스 can feel completely different.
What does 무기자차 mean on sunscreen?
Mineral filters — zinc oxide and titanium dioxide — which sit on the skin and can leave a white cast. 유기자차 means chemical filters, which absorb into the skin, feel lighter and leave no cast. 혼합자차 is both. Most Korean sunscreens are 유기자차, which is why they tend to feel lighter than Western ones.
What is 기능성화장품?
A regulated designation in Korea. Only three claim types qualify — brightening (미백), wrinkle care (주름개선) and UV protection (자외선차단) — and a product has to be registered to carry the mark. It tells you the claim was filed with the regulator, which is a different thing from a marketing line on the front of a box.
Why does the same product say 스킨 on one box and 토너 on another?
They are the same category. Korean brands used 스킨 for decades, and the industry has been shifting to 토너 to match international naming. Neither means an astringent — Korean toners are hydrating layers you pat in.
Part of the K-beauty guide — the routine, the shop, and the tax refund.
While you're here
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