In 2020, Beauty of Joseon posted $83,000 in annual revenue — a number that wouldn't raise a single eyebrow at any beauty industry conference. By 2023, that figure had crossed $116.7 million. By the end of 2024, it surpassed $250 million. That is a 3,000× increase in four years, achieved without a celebrity face, without a heritage luxury backstory, and without a single physical flagship store outside Korea.
It is, without question, the most explosive growth trajectory in K-beauty history. Understanding how it happened is essential for any brand, buyer, or investor operating in the global beauty market today.
The Product That Changed Everything
Beauty of Joseon's rise cannot be separated from one product: the Relief Sun: Rice + Probiotics SPF 50+ PA++++. Priced under $20 USD, it became the reference sunscreen for an entire generation of skincare consumers discovering K-beauty through TikTok.
The formula is deceptively simple in concept but technically demanding in execution: a mineral-chemical hybrid UV filter combined with fermented rice extract, probiotic complexes, and a texture so lightweight it challenged every consumer assumption about sunscreen. No white cast. No stickiness. No compromise between protection and wearability. In clinical terms: photostability, broad-spectrum coverage, and a cosmetic elegance that Western SPF formulations at the same price point simply cannot match.
TikTok did the rest. At peak, 16 of the top 20 sunscreen review videos on the platform featured the Relief Sun. The branded hashtag accumulated 1.7 billion views. These were not sponsored placements — they were organic testimonials from consumers who had genuinely experienced the product's difference and wanted to share it.
The Philosophy Behind the Formula
Beauty of Joseon is not a heritage brand cosplaying nostalgia. It is a brand that asks a rigorous research question: what did Joseon Dynasty-era Koreans know about skin health that modern dermatology has since validated?
The answers center on three ingredients. Rice — specifically fermented rice — delivers niacinamide-adjacent brightening and barrier-supporting properties backed by contemporary clinical data. Ginseng provides adaptogenic antioxidant activity, with ginsenosides now well-studied for collagen stimulation and inflammation reduction. Plum contributes high-concentration vitamin C precursors alongside organic acids for gentle exfoliation.
Each ingredient carries both traditional legitimacy and modern scientific validation. The brand does not ask consumers to choose between cultural authenticity and efficacy — it delivers both simultaneously. That dual positioning is extraordinarily difficult to replicate.
The Parent Company Most People Don't Know
Beauty of Joseon operates under Goodai Global, a Seoul-based holding company founded in 2015 by Juhyuck Cheun. Goodai's portfolio spans 11+ brands, including TirTir, Round Lab, SKIN1004, Skinfood, Laka, House of Hur, and iUnik. In 2024, Goodai's consolidated revenue surpassed 1 trillion Korean Won — approximately $700 million USD — marking the first time a K-beauty multi-brand conglomerate outside the traditional chaebol structure crossed that threshold.
Goodai's distribution infrastructure accelerated in 2024 with the acquisition of Hansung USA for approximately 100 billion KRW ($70 million). Hansung's network includes direct relationships with Costco and Target, two of the highest-volume beauty retailers in North America. This acquisition effectively gave Goodai shelf access that most emerging K-beauty brands spend years attempting to negotiate independently.
The IPO That Could Redefine K-Beauty Valuation
The most consequential development in Beauty of Joseon's story may be still ahead. Goodai Global has engaged Mirae Asset, NH Investment, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley as underwriters for a potential IPO targeting a valuation of 10 trillion KRW — approximately $7 billion USD.
For context: that would place Goodai among the most valuable standalone beauty companies globally, sitting between Coty ($5.5B market cap) and Revlon's pre-bankruptcy peak. The implied multiple suggests capital markets are pricing in sustained double-digit revenue growth across the portfolio for at least five years.
The IPO, if executed at the target valuation, would also establish a new public benchmark for K-beauty multi-brand platforms — one that every subsequent transaction in the space will be measured against.
What Brands Using Atypical Beauty's Platform Should Know
Beauty of Joseon's trajectory illustrates three structural truths about K-beauty's global opportunity that Atypical Beauty's platform is built to operationalize.
First: performance is the moat. The Relief Sun's viral success was not manufactured — it was earned through a formula that outperformed products at 3× its price. Buyers on Atypical Beauty's platform are specifically looking for brands with that kind of defensible product advantage, not brands chasing aesthetic trends.
Second: TikTok virality follows genuine performance. Brands that invest in formulation quality before investing in creator outreach tend to generate more authentic — and more durable — social proof. Our platform helps match brands with buyers who understand and communicate this distinction to their end consumers.
Third: global expansion requires infrastructure, not just ambition. Goodai's Hansung acquisition solved a distribution problem. For brands without $70 million acquisition budgets, Atypical Beauty's network of pre-vetted global buyers, regulatory support, and AI-powered market-fit tools provides a path to equivalent reach at a fraction of the cost.
Frequently Asked Questions
What made the Relief Sun so successful on TikTok specifically?
The product addressed a genuine pain point — a sunscreen that doesn't feel like sunscreen — in a way that was immediately visible on camera. TikTok's format rewards before/after demonstrations and sensory descriptions. A formula with no white cast and featherweight texture is inherently demonstrable. Creator content created itself.
Is Beauty of Joseon available globally?
Yes. The brand distributes across North America (Amazon, Ulta, Target), Europe (ASOS, Lookfantastic, Boots), Southeast Asia (Shopee, Lazada), and the Middle East. Goodai's Hansung acquisition significantly expanded its North American retail footprint in 2024.
How does Goodai Global's IPO affect individual brand buyers?
A public listing would require more rigorous financial reporting, potentially accelerating Goodai's international expansion investments. Retail buyers working with Goodai portfolio brands may see more aggressive inventory support and marketing co-investment as the company grows to meet public market expectations.
Can smaller K-beauty brands replicate this growth model?
The core mechanism — exceptional formulation, strategic pricing below luxury thresholds, organic social proof — is replicable. The scale of Goodai's infrastructure is not. For smaller brands, the critical step is finding the right global distribution partner before attempting to build owned infrastructure.