“Before, I only bought K-beauty products through Amazon, but now I’m happy to be able to test and bu..

Festa
For the first time overseas, 100,000 people visited the color of viewing
KCON for three days
Connection, spread of fandom to K-beauty
55 brands meet in person with U.S. consumers

사진 확대 Local customers are enjoying Festa at the “Olive Young Festa LA 2026” site. [Picture = Courtesy of CJ Olive Young]

“Before, I only bought K-beauty products through Amazon, but now I’m happy to be able to test and buy them in-store.”

Chelsea, who lives in Los Angeles (LA), said this after experiencing a skin scan that diagnoses skin conditions at Olive Young Festa LA 2026. “It was convenient to know the skin condition such as pores and wrinkles in detail just by taking a few shots and answering a simple questionnaire,” he said.

The heart of LA, USA, has turned into a “K Beauty Playground” for three days. As the K-culture fandom, formed around K-pop, spread to K-beauty such as skincare and hair care, 100,000 visitors flocked to the venue.

CJ Olive Young announced on the 18th that 100,000 people visited the Olive Young Festa LA 2026 held in LA, California, USA from the 14th to the 16th (local time). This is the first time that the Olive Young Festa, which started in Korea in 2019, has been held overseas. 55 K-beauty and lifestyle brands participated in the event held in conjunction with the global K-culture festival “KCON LA 2026.”

The venue was decorated as if it had moved Gangnam, Seongsu, Myeongdong, and Hongdae in Seoul. There was a line of visitors taking photos and short-form videos against the backdrop of Korean road signs, bus stops, and crosswalks.

Diante, a California resident, said, “I’ve been to Korea before, and the entire venue was decorated like a Korean street, so I thought of traveling at the time. Each space has a different concept, so it’s fun to look around.”

The Olive Young Store in the center of the venue has organized products to experience the Korean skincare stage, from double cleansing to pads, serums, and sun care. There was a long queue for “My Color Vibe,” which recommends products according to personal color, and “Skin Scan,” which diagnoses skin conditions.

In connection with KCON, it was also noticeable that K-pop fans naturally encountered K-beauty. “As I became a fan of K-pop idol groups, I became interested in K-beauty,” said Michelle, who flew to LA for more than three hours from Alberta, Canada to attend KCON. “It was nice to see not only skincare but also hair care and inner beauty in one place.”

This event also served as a test bed for small and medium-sized domestic brands to meet U.S. consumers directly. Participating companies set up their own booths to demonstrate their products and examine the reactions of local consumers.

Cho Yong-hoon, CEO of Bytrap, which runs hair care brand ‘Release’, said, “Brand companies do not have many opportunities to meet U.S. customers in person. We were able to see how customers got to know the brand and what areas they were interested in.”

“A customer saw the product at Olive Young and bought it and has been eating it for four months,” said Kim So-hyun, brand manager of Dong-A Pharmaceutical. “It was meaningful to meet and hear from actual customers in the United States.”

With this event, Olive Young plans to strengthen its role as a platform to help domestic brands advance overseas beyond just distributors who sell K-beauty products. The Festa was also linked to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency’s (KOTRA) overseas expansion support project.

An official from Olive Young said, “We will continue to expand opportunities for domestic brands to meet with global customers and strengthen our role as a platform to support the growth of the K-beauty ecosystem in the U.S. market.”