Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon unveils a plaque at the opening ceremony of “Beyond the Beauty, B the B@DDP,” Seoul’s beauty promotion and experience center, held at Vincom Mega Mall Royal City in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Dec. 5, 2025. (Yonhap)
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is looking to cement the city’s role in the global rise of “K-beauty,” signing a major cooperation agreement in Vietnam as local enthusiasm for Korean cosmetics continues to surge.
During a visit to Hanoi on Friday, Oh oversaw the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Seoul Business Agency and Vincom Retail, Vietnam’s largest retail operator.
The partnership will provide Korean beauty brands with permanent, on-site platforms inside major shopping centers such as Vincom Mega Mall Royal City, marking one of Seoul’s strongest pushes yet to expand K-beauty’s footprint in Southeast Asia.
The agreement comes amid booming demand. Vietnam has become the fifth-largest export market for Korean cosmetics over the past three years, driven largely by the spending power of consumers in their 20s and 30s.
As online shopping and social media-driven beauty trends accelerate, Seoul sees Vietnam as a strategic testing ground where emerging beauty-tech startups can test market demand and strengthen brand identity.
During the opening of “Beyond the Beauty, Be the B@DDP,” a three-day K-beauty pop-up event at the Royal City mall, 13 Seoul-based beauty companies showcased their products, with nine meeting directly with local buyers and consumers.
SBA plans to transform the pop-up into the first overseas permanent branch of its Be the B@DDP beauty culture hub, offering year-round exposure for Seoul brands.
Meeting with Korean companies based in Hanoi earlier that day, Oh pledged to build sustainable networks that allow Seoul companies to enter Vietnam more easily and grow into global players.
“Seoul will work to secure practical entry channels for local companies in Vietnam and build a sustainable cooperation framework to help them grow into globally competitive firms,” Oh said.
jychoi@heraldcorp.com
