CHEONGJU, SOUTH KOREA — With exactly 90 days remaining, the countdown has officially begun for the 2026 Osong Cosmetics & Beauty Expo. Co-hosted by Chungcheongbuk-do Province and Cheongju City, and organized by the Osong Bio Promotion Foundation, this premier international trade event will take place from October 22 (Thu) to October 24 (Sat), 2026, at the newly established Cheongju OSCO (Osong Convention Center).

Under the official theme “K-Beauty Osong, Growing Together with the World,” the three-day expo is designed as an integrated B2B and B2C platform encompassing corporate exhibitions, export matchmaking, academic conferences, and interactive beauty experiences. This year’s event is set to mark a major milestone by reinforcing investment promotion and export consultation capabilities to position itself as a robust enterprise-growth platform.

Key Innovation: Startup Acceleration & IR Pitching

The most notable change in this year's expo is the introduction of an Early-Stage Enterprise Growth Program. Targetting cosmetics and beauty startups established within the last seven years, the organizer recruited 20 candidate companies and evaluated their business feasibility, marketability, growth potential, and technological innovation to select the top 10 finalists.

The selected startups will participate in live IR (Investor Relations) pitching sessions on-site, presenting their business models directly to venture capitalists, angel investors, and industry experts. Through Q&A and expert mentoring, their growth potential will be validated. Following the presentations, top-performing startups will receive awards, while parallel networking and distribution matchmaking sessions will bridge these early-stage companies directly to follow-up investments and business contracts.

Strong Corporate Momentum: Goals Exceeded Ahead of Opening

At the D-90 milestone, participation has already reached 226 companies and 309 exhibition booths, achieving 94% of the target. This represents a 20% increase in participating companies and a 15% increase in booth allocations compared to the previous year.

Participation is further boosted through expanded joint pavilions in partnership with leading public institutions, research centers, and universities, including:

Korea Testing & Research Institute (KTR)
Chungbuk Bio-Academia-Industry Convergence Institute
Chungbuk Technopark
Cheongju University & Seowon University
Small Enterprise and Market Service (SEMAS)
Additionally, 35 official corporate sponsors have been confirmed. Sponsors will enjoy marketing benefits through official web and social channels, while supplying promotional merchandise for visitor engagement giveaways.

Corporate-Centric Floor Layout & Global B2B Matchmaking

The spatial layout at Cheongju OSCO has been overhauled with a corporate-first approach. Shifting away from a purely consumer-centric design, the Export Consultation Hall is placed directly at the center of the venue, creating a seamless B2B layout that organically connects corporate displays, export discussions, and academic seminars.

This structure allows companies not only to display products but also to conduct buyer meetings on-site and gather key market intelligence from seminars. The expo targets a total of 1,200 business consultations and an aggregate consultation value of 260 billion KRW (approx. $190 million USD).

The invited buyer pool has been optimized to 200 pre-selected buyers (170 international, 30 domestic), accompanied by 300 walk-in buyers, bringing total buyer participation to over 500. To ensure high conversion rates, matching effectiveness is prioritized by targeting verified, high-intent buyers in collaboration with 8 global commerce bodies:

KOTRA (Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency)
Korea Exhibition Industry Contractor Association (AKEI) & Korea MD Association
German, French, Indian, and Turkish Chambers of Commerce in Korea
Japan-Korea Cosmetics Association

Urban Outreach: Seongan-gil Downtown Preview Zone

To bring K-Beauty closer to the general public and tourists, an Expo Preview Zone will operate at the C-Square Travel Lounge in Cheongju’s downtown Seongan-gil district from August through October. The zone will showcase featured products from official sponsors, offer hands-on beauty workshops, and integrate QR-code shopping to direct urban foot traffic straight to the main expo event.

Leadership Vision & Registration

Kim Wang-il, Director of the Advanced Bio Division at Chungcheongbuk-do, stated:

"We are expanding our role into a growth platform that actively supports corporate investment and market entry by leveraging our established business infrastructure. We will operate programs meticulously so that early-stage startups can secure tangible growth opportunities by connecting with investors and distributors at the expo."

"With 90 days remaining, we are launching full-scale buyer pre-matching to help beauty startups expand overseas and drive real export results, striving to make this South Korea's representative export-oriented beauty expo."
The fastest way to access the event is through pre-registration on the official website (osongbeautyexpo.kr) or Instagram (@osong_beauty). Pre-registered attendees will receive priority event updates and eligibility for giveaway drawings held in August and September.

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