How to Read a Korean Ingredient List

You found a Korean essence you want to compare with the product you are replacing. You flip the bottle over and the ingredient list is in Hangul. Even the English-language list underneath uses names you do not recognize. This does not mean the ingredients are exotic. It means the naming system is different.

A replacement search that crosses borders adds a translation layer to every comparison. The chemistry may be identical, but if you cannot confirm that because the names do not match, you are stuck guessing. This guide is about removing the guesswork.

KCII vs INCI: two systems, mostly aligned

Most countries that regulate cosmetics use the International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients (INCI) as the standard for ingredient lists [2] [3]. Korea uses a closely related system called KCII (Korean Cosmetic Ingredients Indication), which is maintained by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) [1].

KCII is based on INCI and the majority of names are identical. Where they diverge, it is usually in one of three areas:

Divergence type	Example	KCII name	INCI name
Plant extract naming	Green tea	Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract	Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract (same, but Korean-language lists may use the Korean botanical name)
Ingredient grouping	Fragrance components	May list individually where INCI allows “parfum”	Parfum/Fragrance
Translation artifacts	Niacinamide	나이아신아마이드 (transliteration)	Niacinamide

The last category is the most common source of confusion. When a Korean product provides only a Hangul ingredient list, every ingredient name is a transliteration or translation of the KCII/INCI name. If you cannot read Hangul, the list is opaque even though the substances are the same as in any international product.

How to cross-reference ingredient lists

Step 1: Find the English-language list

Most Korean products sold internationally include an English-language INCI list somewhere on the packaging, often on a sticker added by the distributor. Check:

• The outer box or carton (often on a sticker if the product is imported to the EU or US).
• The brand’s global or English-language website.
• Online skincare databases such as COSDNA, INCIDecoder or Hwahae (a Korean app with English translations).

Products sold within the EU must carry an INCI list regardless of country of origin [2].

Step 2: Compare structure, not just names

Once you have both lists in INCI format, compare them the way you would any two products. Ingredients above 1% must be listed in descending order of concentration in both Korean [1] and EU [2] systems. A study comparing Korean and European cosmetics found that while naming conventions differed, the underlying ingredient analysis methods were compatible [5].

Focus on the first ten ingredients first. If they match in substance and approximate order, the products are structurally similar. Minor differences in the tail of the list (below 1%) are less significant.

Write out the comparison in two columns. Put the INCI name of each ingredient from your original on the left and the INCI name from the candidate on the right. Where names match, note it. Where they differ, cross-reference before assuming they are different substances. Where you find a genuine difference, mark it and note whether it falls above or below the likely 1% threshold. This takes ten minutes and saves you from rejecting a match that was only lost in translation.

Step 3: Watch for genuine formulation differences

Sometimes a Korean product sold domestically has a different formulation from the export version [5]. This is not a naming issue; the products are genuinely different. Reasons include:

• Regulatory limits. Some ingredients are permitted at different concentrations in Korea versus the EU or US.
• Consumer preferences. Korean domestic formulations sometimes include ingredients popular locally (snail mucin, ferment filtrates) at higher concentrations.
• Preservation systems. Export products may use different preservatives to comply with destination-country regulations.

If the ingredient lists differ in substance (not just naming), you are comparing two different products, not two names for the same product.

This is a crucial distinction for the replacement ledger. A naming difference goes into the “matches” column once confirmed. A genuine formulation difference goes into “does not match” or “unknown” depending on how significant the difference is. Do not let the translation layer obscure the real question: are these the same substances in roughly the same amounts?

Common ingredients that look unfamiliar in translation

INCI name	Common English name	What it looks like in Hangul
Niacinamide	Vitamin B3	나이아신아마이드
Sodium Hyaluronate	Hyaluronic acid (salt form)	히알루론산나트륨
Butylene Glycol	BG (humectant/solvent)	부틸렌글라이콜
Centella Asiatica Extract	Cica	센텔라아시아티카추출물
Glycerin	Glycerine	글리세린
Galactomyces Ferment Filtrate	Yeast ferment	갈락토미세스발효여과물

If you encounter an ingredient in Hangul that you cannot identify, type it into a Korean-English skincare ingredient database. The KCII system is well-documented and most names translate directly.

One practical approach: photograph the Hangul list and work through it ingredient by ingredient in a database or app. Start from the top. If the first five ingredients match your original under their INCI equivalents, you have a structurally similar base. If the first five diverge, the products are built differently regardless of what the lower-listed ingredients say. The top of the list tells you what the product mostly is. The bottom tells you what was added in small amounts for texture, preservation or marketing. Both matter, but the top answers the question faster.

Pay attention to the order within the top five, not just the names. Water followed by glycerin followed by butylene glycol is a different base from water followed by propanediol followed by dimethicone. The first is a water-and-humectant base; the second leans toward silicone slip. Both may feel pleasant, but they are not doing the same thing on your skin, and matching your original means matching the architecture, not just the guest list.

For the replacement ledger, note each ingredient as confirmed match, confirmed different, or unresolved. The unresolved column is for names you could not cross-reference. Do not guess. Write “unknown” and move on. A ledger full of honest unknowns is more useful than a ledger full of assumptions.

An illustrative example

This scenario is hypothetical.

A reader’s discontinued essence was a Korean product bought in Seoul. The packaging had only a Hangul ingredient list. She remembers the first few ingredients included galactomyces ferment filtrate and niacinamide. She wants to find a replacement available in the EU.

She finds the product on a Korean skincare database, which shows the full KCII list with INCI equivalents. The top ingredients: water, galactomyces ferment filtrate, niacinamide, butylene glycol, glycerin. She also finds the same brand’s EU-market version and compares ingredient lists. The EU version lists the same top five ingredients in the same order but includes phenoxyethanol (a preservative more commonly used in EU-market products) instead of methylparaben, which the Korean version used.

The core formula is the same. The preservative system was changed for the EU market. For her purposes (matching the ferment filtrate and niacinamide) either version works. She patch tests the EU version and it performs like the original.

A different reader finds a Korean toner with an ingredient list that looks completely different from his discontinued product. After cross-referencing through an ingredient database, he discovers the substances are actually very similar: the difference was the naming system, not the chemistry. The lesson: never reject a potential replacement on name alone without cross-referencing.

When the Korean list reveals more than the INCI list

Korean ingredient labeling sometimes provides more detail than the international version [1]. For example, a product might list specific botanical sub-species or extraction methods on the Korean packaging that are simplified to a generic extract name on the INCI list. This extra detail can be useful when you are trying to match a very specific ingredient.

Common traps

• Assuming a Hangul-only list means the product is unavailable internationally. Many Korean products are sold globally. The Hangul list is the domestic label; the international label may be on the box, on a sticker, or on the brand’s website.
• Rejecting a candidate because one ingredient name looks different. Cross-reference first. A surprising number of apparent mismatches turn out to be the same substance under a different standardized name.
• Treating the Korean domestic version and the export version as identical without checking. The same product name does not guarantee the same formula. Compare the ingredient lists of the specific versions you are considering, not the product name alone. The name travels. The formula does not always travel with it.
• Relying on Google Translate for Hangul ingredient lists. Machine translation handles common ingredients reasonably well but can mangle specialized chemical names. A dedicated skincare ingredient database is more reliable than a general-purpose translator.
• Comparing an old Korean ingredient list with a current one without checking for reformulation. Korean brands reformulate frequently, and the domestic market often sees changes before the export market does. Confirm that the list you are comparing against is from a current batch, not from a review written three years ago.

For a broader comparison of Korean, Japanese and Western formulation approaches, see our guide on Korean, Japanese and Western formulation styles. For the general principles of reading any ingredient list, see understanding INCI names.

When to see a clinician. If you are importing a Korean product not available through your local regulated channels, be aware that quality and safety verification may be limited. If a product causes a reaction, stop using it and see a dermatologist. Bring the full ingredient list, both the Korean and English versions if possible. Seek urgent care for swelling of the face, lips or eyes.