Japan has long had a reputation for producing amazing cosmetics and skin care lines (Shiseido and Shu Uemura, anyone?) but another Asian country has been quietly infiltrating the US market lately. Look to Korea for new beauty innovations coming down the pipeline.

I was talking to a friend who’s a veteran marketer in the beauty industry. She thinks Americans have this idea that Asians have perfect, flawless skin. Now, this friend also happens to be Korean-American…and she has perfect, flawless skin. I’m not stereotyping here. Just saying.

You can’t find Korean brands on every drugstore shelf yet, but it may be headed that way. Amore Pacific, a company based in Seoul, owns about 15 different makeup and skincare brands, a few of which have some exposure here in the US. If you’ve not heard of Amore Pacific, you will soon.

WWD recently listed them as number 20 in their list of 100 top beauty companies. Most of the company’s business right now is in Korea and China, but in 2009 the company’s US business increased by 25%.

The Amore Pacific brand offers skincare under the Amore Pacific label and a very high end line called Sulwhasoo. Etude is a younger, cheaper makeup and skincare line. Oddly, the company also owns the Lolita Lempicka fragrance brand.

Click through to learn more about some of these brands:

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