Daiso opened its first beauty only store and two 100 year old drug makers followed it onto the shelf

What it is

다이소 (da·i·so) sells everything at fixed prices from 500 won to 5,000 won. Its beauty section has grown so fast that in September it got a shop of its own. 한국경제 reported on 7 September that the chain had opened a beauty specialist store of about 66㎡ in the 건대 (geon·dae) university district of 광진구 (gwang·jin·gu), Seoul. Of about 1,800 items, 80% are cosmetics and beauty tools: skincare and colour, hair and body, sheet masks, cleansers, men's products and inner beauty supplements. It is the first time since the first store opened in 1997 that Daiso has built a shop around one category.

The shelves carry the brands that have sold out elsewhere. The report named VT's 리들샷 (ri·deul·syat), 동아제약's 파티온 (pa·ti·on), AHC, and the colour lines 태그 (tae·geu) and 딘토 (din·to).

October brought a new kind of tenant. 뉴스핌 reported on 27 October that 동화약품 (dong·hwa·yak·pum), the company behind the 후시딘 ointment, and 유한양행 (yu·han·yang·haeng), maker of 안티푸라민, now sit side by side on Daiso shelves with skincare at 5,000 won. 동화's brand is 후시덤 (hu·si·deom); 유한's is 더마푸라민Rx (deo·ma·pu·ra·min). Both put the company name and a century of pharmacy on the packaging.

Why it took off

The sales numbers made the store inevitable. 한국경제 reported that Daiso's beauty sales rose about 30% in the first seven months of 2026 compared with the same months a year earlier, after rising 85% in 2023, 144% in 2024 and more than 70% in 2025. The small bays in ordinary stores could no longer hold the brands wanting in. Daiso chose 건대 after its data showed beauty turnover and repeat purchases there ran higher than in other districts, with people in their twenties and thirties and foreign visitors passing through.

For the drug makers, Daiso is a cheap way to win a first purchase. 뉴스핌 reported that 후시덤 passed 1 million units within five months of its May launch, that its repair line sold out on 다이소몰 (da·i·so·mol) right after release, and that in July the 후시덤 moisture cream sold 2,000 a day. In October 동화 added a 흔적 리페어 (heun·jeok ri·pe·eo) line of five products for marks and pigmentation, including a 10% and a 15% niacinamide item, and 유한양행 answered with eight 더마푸라민Rx products from cleanser to ampoule and cream. The same report quoted an industry view that the real test is whether first buyers come back, and that it would take about a year to tell.

How to do it

The beauty store is in the 건대 district, near 건대입구역 (geon·dae·ip·gu·yeok) on lines 2 and 7. Prices follow the usual Daiso scale, so nothing costs more than 5,000 won. Ordinary Daiso stores carry the beauty lines too; look for the green 유한양행 bay and the red 부채표 후시덤 bay, which 뉴스핌 found standing next to each other in one store.

Online, 다이소몰 sells the same lines and marks sold out items as such. Delivery is free on orders of 30,000 won or more, and in Seoul orders of 40,000 won or more qualify for same day delivery; there is also store pickup. Through October the mall ran a 토스페이 (to·seu·pe·i) discount of 1,000 won on orders of 30,000 won or more.

Daiso's fashion collaborations land on the same shelves. On 15 October 위키트리 reported that a 키르시 (ki·reu·si) range of cherry hair ties, clips, pouches and keyrings at 1,000 to 3,000 won had most colour options sold out on 다이소몰 soon after launch, and that stock differs by store, so a specific piece may take more than one visit.

Where, if you want it

다이소 건대점, the beauty specialist store, in the 건국대학교 shopping district of 광진구, Seoul, near 건대입구역 on lines 2 and 7. It is about 66㎡, the size of a convenience store, so expect a crowd in a small space. Any other Daiso in Korea carries the beauty lines in a smaller bay, and 다이소몰 ships nationwide with store pickup as an option.