Data sources and methodology

Source

Source: Korea Customs Service, via data.go.kr (South Korea's Public Data Portal). Three open datasets are used: trade by product and country, trade by country, and trade by product. The portal lists them with no restriction on use. This site was last refreshed on 2026-11-13.

Product names: Korea Customs Service, "HS codes: item names by unit" (관세청 HS부호 단위별 품목명), via data.go.kr. Long official names are shortened on this site (marked with "etc."); the full official description is shown on each product page.

Definitions

Export value

US dollars, FOB (free on board): the value of the goods when they leave South Korea.

Import value

US dollars, CIF (cost, insurance and freight): the value including transport and insurance to South Korea.

Weight

Net weight in kilograms, without packaging. Shown in tonnes (t) for larger amounts.

Value per kg

Export value divided by export net weight for the same month. It changes with the mix of goods as well as with prices.

HS code

The Harmonized System product code. The first 6 digits are international; South Korea adds 4 more digits (HSK) for its own subdivisions.

Country

For exports, the destination country declared to customs; for imports, the country of origin, as recorded by the Korea Customs Service.

Month

The month in which the export or import declaration was accepted.

What the cosmetics total includes

The cosmetics total used in the cosmetics section is the sum of these HS codes:

• HS 3303.00 – Perfumes and toilet waters
• HS 3304.10 – Lip make-up preparations
• HS 3304.20 – Eye make-up preparations
• HS 3304.30 – Manicure and pedicure preparations
• HS 3304.91 – Powders for make-up or skin care, whether or not compressed
• HS 3304.99 – Other beauty, make-up and skin care preparations (including sunscreen)
• HS 3305.10 – Shampoos
• HS 3305.20 – Preparations for permanent waving or straightening
• HS 3305.30 – Hair lacquers
• HS 3305.90 – Other hair preparations
• HS 3307.10 – Shaving preparations
• HS 3307.20 – Personal deodorants and antiperspirants
• HS 3307.30 – Perfumed bath salts and other bath preparations
• HS 3307.90 – Other toiletry preparations (depilatories, sheet masks, contact lens solutions and others) (without HS 3307.90.3000)
• HS 3401.11 – Toilet soap, including medicated soap
• HS 3401.30 – Liquid or cream skin-washing products

Not counted in the total, but shown on their own pages: HS 3307.41 (Agarbatti and other incense that works by burning); HS 3307.49 (Other room perfuming or deodorizing preparations); HS 3307.90.3000 (Contact lens or artificial eye solutions). HS 3401.11 and 3401.30 are counted in the total and shown together as "Soap and cleansers".

Calculations on this site

• Chapter totals and the all-goods total are sums of the four-digit heading rows by country. The all-goods total can be slightly lower (about 0.03%) than the Korea Customs Service's own country totals, which include trade not assigned to a heading.
• Code 2424 (household removal goods) is a Korean statistical code, not an HS heading. It is counted in the all-goods total but not in chapter 24.
• Six- and ten-digit rows on heading pages come from the product-only dataset and are world totals.
• The HS 3307 page is the full heading, so it includes the codes left out of the cosmetics total.
• "Last 12 months" means the 12 months ending with the latest month shown; it is compared with the 12 months before that.
• Ranks are by export value among destination countries for the same product and period.
• A percentage change is shown only when the earlier figure is at least $10,000.
• A product–country page exists when exports over the last 24 months reached $1,000,000 (chapter), $5,000,000 (heading) or $100,000 (cosmetics codes); smaller flows appear in the tables on product and country pages.

Updates and revisions

The Korea Customs Service adds each month's figures around the middle of the following month and may revise earlier months when declarations are corrected or withdrawn. This site is rebuilt once a month and downloads the recent months again each time, so figures here can change after first publication.

Limits

The statistics describe goods declared to customs. They do not show company names, brands, prices of individual products or sales through channels that are not customs declarations. Some English product names are shortened or translated by us; the Korean name on each page is the official one.