Have you heard of glass skin? The smooth, dewy, almost poreless complexion that is one of the biggest promises of Korean skincare products, drawing enthusiasts around the world, including in Bangladesh, into carefully curated routines.
But what if the serum you bought to fade acne marks, the moisturiser you trusted to repair your skin barrier or the toner you saved up for are counterfeits?
For Miti, a university student, the promise was worth investing in. She spent money earned through freelancing on a routine built around brands such as Beauty of Joseon, SKIN1004 and Medicube.
Then reports of counterfeit Korean skincare began to surface, and her confidence gave way to uncertainty. With so many sellers claiming to offer authentic products, how could she be sure of what she was putting on her skin?
She began watching YouTube videos and following skincare experts to learn how to tell genuine products from fakes, but doubts persisted.
A question of trust
Brands that once seemed distant are now familiar names in Bangladesh, sold through online stores, social media sellers and physical showrooms.
But in November 2025, The Korea Herald reported seizures of tens of thousands of counterfeit items linked to Korean skincare brands including Kahi, Beauty of Joseon, Medicube, Celladix and SKIN1004.
Another report from the same outlet in September this year described a separate investigation in which officials confirmed counterfeit cosmetics and supplements by comparing them with genuine samples. This time, the fake products again bore the names of brands such as Celladix, Kahi and Beauty of Joseon.
These cases concern enforcement in South Korea. They do not establish that the same counterfeits are sold in Bangladesh, but they show why product verification matters in an international market.
For Bangladeshi buyers, the challenge goes beyond spotting a fake from its packaging. It is understanding how a product reaches the country, who imports it and whether claims about its distribution can be independently confirmed.
Following the supply chain
At the Korean Cosmetic Bazar (KC Bazar) showroom in Uttara Square, Dhaka, products from Beauty of Joseon, Medicube, Dr Althea and SKIN1004 were among those on display. Asked about sourcing, a representative said the products were imported through Koba International and were all original.
Then we reached out to Koba International, where Aminul, a wholesale executive, claimed the company imports products directly from South Korea.
He said it has official collaborations with five Korean brands: Dabo, Ecorce Nature Skin, Phytotree, RAIP and Guerisson. Products from brands such as Medicube, 3W Clinic and The Face Shop, he added, were imported through their official websites.
Asked for documents supporting these claims, he said they were private company records and could not be shared. He pointed instead to the company's scale.
"We have 12 showrooms across Bangladesh, and we are a large organisation. If we were selling fake products, we would not have been able to run an organisation of this size. Customers know our products and trust us, which is why we are able to continue our business," he said.
Asked why some brands' websites did not name Koba International as an official partner, Aminul said, "It is an open market, and there are many distributors, including first-party distributors."
Other sellers, similar questions, no direct answers
TBS also approached other retailers and skincare pages.
Glowstar, whose website says it imports skincare, haircare and cosmetics directly from the United Kingdom, the United States and South Korea and describes them as authentic, declined to give any details of its import process.
Shajgoj, a prominent skincare retailer, said it sources Korean products from multiple vendors but offered no further detail. Its PR team agreed to a phone call but did not answer after repeated attempts.
Belasea, a well-known page for Korean skincare, declined to discuss sourcing, saying it would talk only about business.
Empress Origin's website promotes verified and genuine South Korean skincare. A representative said by phone that the company imports products itself without intermediaries but did not disclose its sourcing route.
Businesses may have commercial reasons for keeping supplier relationships private, and these responses are not evidence of counterfeit sales. Still, they show how hard it is for consumers to look beyond a retailer's own claims. Words such as "authentic", "genuine" and "direct import" can reassure, but their value depends on what the seller can substantiate.
Brand websites could offer another reference point, yet publicly listed authorised Bangladeshi retailers proved hard to find for several well-known Korean brands. That does not prove they have no authorised partner here, but it leaves buyers with few ways to test a retailer's claims.
From South Korea to Bangladesh: Who checks the journey?
Transport companies may also play a part, though carrying a shipment and verifying its contents are different jobs. Shariful, an accountant at Four Star Cargo, said the company charges customers by weight to bring products from South Korea.
"Our job is to bring the products into Bangladesh. The customer who places the order is responsible for the authenticity of the products," he said.
For a buyer, "directly from Korea" says where a shipment started, not whether the item is genuine or traceable to the brand, especially since Chinese knockoffs have made their way to South Korean stores.
Sakib Shahriar of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (Kotra) described the agency as a bridge between Korean brands and Bangladeshi retailers.
"We do not directly facilitate the trading process. We act as a bridge between Korean brands and Bangladeshi retailers," he said.
He said Kotra works closely with the South Korean government and brands but does not handle technical product verification, which retailers are responsible for. He named Koba International among the businesses active in the market.
Sakib further said that Kotra does not work directly with Bangladeshi government organisations on trade, and that wholesalers and retailers must contact the relevant authorities themselves.
Kotra's role, as he described it, is a commercial link rather than a testing function.
What do regulators say?
Bangladesh regulates cosmetics, but the requirements depend on the product and the authority responsible.
Dr Md Akter Hossain, director of the Directorate General of Drug Administration, said importers with the required government registration can bring in skincare products under the applicable rules, while those without it are importing illegally.
He said authorised products should carry the MRP and distributor's sticker on each batch, but warned that labels can be falsified.
"Counterfeiting and fraud still occur. Some people produce fake stickers and sell the products, so consumers need to be careful," he said.
Jeb-un Nessa, head of the One Stop Service Centre at the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI), said consumers should check registration information for products covered by the institution's certification requirements.
Trust should not be a guessing game
None of these accounts establishes that counterfeit Korean skincare is widespread in Bangladesh. What they show is that the information needed to assess authenticity is not readily available to the people buying the products.
Consumers should not have to become investigators to feel confident about a moisturiser or serum. Nor should trust rest on how polished a showroom looks, how confidently a seller speaks or how many followers a page has.
Clearer sourcing information, verifiable claims of authorised distribution and accessible regulatory guidance would give buyers a firmer basis for their decisions.
South Korea has begun to tackle the same problem. On 7 October, President Lee Jae Myung announced a "K-Brand Government Certification System" that will let consumers check whether a product is authentic by scanning a QR code on it with their phone, reports AFP.
More than 30 companies have already signed up, including Amorepacific, South Korea's largest cosmetics company.