Who Owns Beauty of Joseon? Goodai Global, the Korean Company Behind TIRTIR, SKIN1004 and Round Lab

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Quick Answer

Who owns Beauty of Joseon? Goodai Global Co., Ltd. (주식회사 구다이글로벌), an unlisted Korean company headquartered in Guro-gu, Seoul. Its founder and CEO, Cheon Joo-hyuk (천주혁), held 96.4% of the shares on 31 December 2025, according to the company's audited 2025 accounts filed on Korea's disclosure system DART. Goodai first licensed the Beauty of Joseon brand in 2017 and bought it outright in 2019. It still owns it.

Is Beauty of Joseon an independent brand? No. Some English pages still describe it as an independent brand that has never been acquired. That was out of date by 2019. Beauty of Joseon is now one brand in a group that also owns TIRTIR, SKIN1004, Round Lab and Skinfood. Goodai's consolidated revenue was ₩1.4718 trillion in 2025 (about $1.08 billion).

Is it Korean, and where is it made? It is Korean. The company is Korean and was founded in Korea, and the founder controls it. The best-known product, the Relief Sun sunscreen (맑은쌀 선크림), lists Korea Kolmar (한국콜마) as its manufacturer and Korea as the country of manufacture on its Korean retail notice.

This is a public-information company spotlight. EpicKor has no relationship with Goodai Global or any of its brands, and nothing here is investment advice. Won figures come from Goodai's audit reports unless a press source is named. Dollar figures use ₩1,360 to the dollar and are rounded.

Who Owns Which Brand

The control percentages come from the subsidiary table in Goodai's 2025 consolidated audit report. For SKIN1004 the chain matters: Goodai owns just over half of TM Beauty, and private-equity funds own the rest. So SKIN1004 is controlled by Goodai but not wholly owned by it. The Japanese holding company in the middle was set up in 2025, when TM Beauty contributed its Craver shares to it.

Goodai Global At A Glance

How Beauty of Joseon Became Goodai's

Cheon Joo-hyuk started as a cosmetics distributor. Asia Economy reported that Beauty of Joseon was one of the products he was selling into China in 2015, before he owned a brand of his own. Daily Secu reported on 1 October 2019 that Goodai Global had signed an exclusive licence for the Beauty of Joseon brand in 2017. Goodai then took full ownership through an asset-transfer agreement with the brand's previous holder, Womens Stock (우먼스톡). So Beauty of Joseon was never a founder-run indie that later sold out. Its current owner has run it since 2017 and owned it since 2019.

Goodai repositioned it as modern hanbang (한방, Korean herbal) skincare, with rice, ginseng and propolis, Joseon-era imagery, and plain and fairly cheap packaging. Then it sold the brand hard on Amazon in the United States. Dealsite reported Goodai's revenue climbing from about ₩100 million in 2020 to ₩3 billion in 2021, ₩40 billion in 2022 and ₩140 billion in 2023. The DART numbers pick up from there. Goodai's own separate (parent-only) revenue was ₩139.4 billion in 2023, ₩321.7 billion in 2024 and ₩456.5 billion in 2025 (the 2023 and 2024 figures are unaudited K-IFRS restatements). Most of that is Beauty of Joseon, because the other big brands are booked in subsidiaries.

Where the sunscreen is made. Goodai does not run its own sunscreen factory. The Korean product notice for the 50 ml Relief Sun on Market Kurly lists "한국콜마㈜/㈜구다이글로벌": Korea Kolmar as manufacturer and Goodai as the responsible seller. The country of manufacture is Korea. In April 2024 Financial News reported that Kolmar's "Fitting SPF Boosting" formulation technology is used in Beauty of Joseon's sunscreens. This is the standard K-beauty model. Brands design, market and sell, and contract developer-manufacturers formulate and fill. Our COSMAX deep dive and the K-beauty OEM/ODM guide explain that layer. For any other product, read the 제조업자 (manufacturer) line on the Korean label.

You might like: Is Korean Sunscreen Banned in the US? What Changed in 2026

The Acquisition Timeline

Beauty of Joseon gave Goodai the cash. It spent that cash, plus borrowed money, on other people's brands.

Where we give a date as "31 March" or "31 August", it is the date from which the audit report consolidates the company, not necessarily the day the money moved. The TIRTIR figure of ₩558.3 billion is the total the audit report recognises for gaining control. It is not the same as the ₩150 billion widely reported for the first half-stake. The 2024 audit report lists that 50% holding at a cost of ₩149.99 billion.

The Numbers: From ₩140 Billion To ₩1.47 Trillion In Two Years

Revenue quadrupled, but operating profit only doubled, and the margin fell from about 37% to 18.6%. That is the arithmetic of buying brands. Goodai's own Beauty of Joseon business is very profitable: its separate accounts show ₩139.6 billion of operating profit on ₩456.5 billion of revenue in 2025. The brands it bought earn less, and a few earn almost nothing.

Where The Money Comes From

The amounts come from the regional note in the 2025 consolidated report, and the shares are our calculation. One unnamed customer, "Company A", bought ₩191.1 billion, or 13% of all sales. The report does not say who it is. At least one Korean outlet has put overseas sales at "over 90%", but the audited 2025 figure is 82.5%. Korea is still Goodai's third-largest market, ahead of Japan.

Brand By Brand

These are full-year figures for each company, so they do not add up to the consolidated total. TIRTIR and Round Lab only count from the month Goodai took control. Inside the group accounts, TIRTIR contributed ₩229.1 billion from April and lost ₩4.6 billion (net). Round Lab contributed ₩74.6 billion from September.

Two numbers stand out. The SKIN1004 side of the group is now Goodai's biggest revenue line, bigger than Beauty of Joseon. And TIRTIR barely broke even in 2025 after Goodai paid the most for it. Round Lab, the most expensive single purchase, is also the most profitable. Our Round Lab Dokdo Toner guide covers the product side of that.

How The Deals Were Paid For

Goodai's balance sheet at the end of 2025 explains the IPO.

• Intangible assets of ₩1.6896 trillion, 59.3% of everything it owns. These are mostly brands and goodwill from the acquisitions. Goodwill alone from Round Lab was ₩232.8 billion and from TIRTIR ₩231.2 billion.
• Liabilities of ₩2.426 trillion against equity of ₩421.5 billion, a debt-to-equity ratio of 575.5%. Long-term borrowings were ₩600.9 billion.
• An ₩800 billion convertible bond, issued on 21 August 2025 and due on 21 August 2032. The coupon is 0%, but bonds that are not converted are repaid at maturity with a guaranteed yield of 6% a year (만기보장수익률). Among other triggers, bondholders can demand early repayment if Goodai does not complete a qualifying listing, at an agreed internal rate of return. The conversion price at the end of 2025 was ₩59,016,394 a share, and it can be adjusted down if the IPO price comes in below an agreed reference price. Because of the early-repayment right, the bond sat in current liabilities at a carrying amount of ₩474.4 billion, and another ₩315.6 billion of the liabilities is the accounting value of the options attached to it.

DART lists the bondholders as "Korea Beauty LLC (코리아뷰티 유한회사) and six others". Korean press named the money behind them: IMM Private Equity ₩280bn, Premier Partners ₩160bn, IMM Investment ₩140bn, Kiwoom PE ₩100bn, JKL Partners ₩70bn and Company K Partners ₩50bn. That round valued Goodai at about ₩4.4 trillion (about $3.2 billion), according to IB Tomato. That figure matches the bond's conversion price. All of these investors are Korean. Cheon Joo-hyuk still owns 96.4% of the shares today, but the bonds would dilute him if they convert.

Is Goodai Global Going Public?

It plans to. Korean press name Mirae Asset Securities as lead underwriter, with NH Investment & Securities, Citigroup Global Markets Korea and Morgan Stanley in the syndicate. Dealsite reported on 7 April 2026 that the company planned to file for the Korea Exchange's preliminary review in the third quarter and list on KOSPI in January–February 2027. Later reports repeated the plan: The Fact on 3 August said a filing in the third quarter, and Insight Korea on 18 September said the filing was targeted for that month. IB Tomato reported valuations of about ₩10 trillion, with some talk of up to ₩15 trillion. Those are press estimates, not a price.

What we could not confirm: as of 12 October 2026, we found no report that the filing had actually been made, and no listing review notice. When the prospectus is published, it will be the best primary source this company has ever produced, and we will update this page.

One structural question hangs over the IPO. Dealsite reported in April 2026 that Craver (SKIN1004) was preparing its own listing in Japan, with a target of the third quarter of 2027, and that Craver's financial investors were reportedly leading that plan. The Japanese holding company in Goodai's audit report fits that route. In August 2026 Edaily reported that Craver was pursuing a Tokyo Stock Exchange listing and quoted market participants who saw listing the subsidiary first as a way around Korean rules on "duplicate listings" (중복상장), which aim to protect minority shareholders when a parent and its subsidiary both list. Neither company has said that is the purpose, and the underwriters told Dealsite that a delay to Goodai's own schedule had not been discussed.

Controversies And Weak Points

The "independent brand" claim. This is the one shoppers meet first. It is out of date, and it matters because "independent" is a selling point in K-beauty marketing. The claim comes from third-party pages, not from Goodai.

Copycat sunscreen listings. When we checked Amazon.com on 12 October 2026, Relief Sun was not on sale from Beauty of Joseon's official store. The listings we found under that name were either "currently unavailable" or unbranded look-alikes from third-party sellers. In the US, sunscreen is regulated as a drug, which our Korean sunscreen explainer covers. Other Beauty of Joseon products are sold by the official store, which is why our links point there.

Buy, then sell. Goodai bought 88.6% of Laka in 2024 and sold all of it in 2025. The company told The Fact that, once it ran the brand from the inside, Laka did not reach the expected level. Industry voices quoted in the same article asked whether the review before the purchase had been thorough enough.

TIRTIR's profit. At a 0.8% operating margin in 2025, as reported by The Fact, Goodai's second-largest purchase earned little against the ₩231.2 billion of goodwill booked for it.

Leverage tied to a listing. A 575.5% debt-to-equity ratio is high for a brand company, though about ₩316 billion of the liabilities is the non-cash value of the bond's options. Because bondholders can ask for early repayment if no qualifying listing happens, the IPO matters more to Goodai's finances than it would to a company funded only by its own cash.

Layered ownership. Bizwatch noted in February 2026 that Goodai runs through stacked structures: Goodai → TM Beauty → Craver, and a co-investment with The Hahm Partners for Skinfood. An industry source quoted there said a move to a holding-company structure was seen as the most realistic way to simplify it.

What Changes For Shoppers

Not much, so far. Each brand keeps its own formulas, lab partners, websites and Amazon storefronts. Goodai has run the acquired companies as separate subsidiaries rather than merging them. What it is centralising is distribution. In April 2026 it renamed TIRTIR's Japanese subsidiary from D&ACE to Goodai Global Japan, which Herald Economy said reaches about 13,000 stores in Japan. It also agreed to buy 60% of Hansung USA in the US. Expect Goodai brands to appear together on store shelves and in promotions.

If you are trying to avoid one parent company, note that buying Beauty of Joseon sunscreen, a TIRTIR cushion, a SKIN1004 ampoule, a Round Lab toner and a Skinfood rice cream sends the money to the same group in Seoul. They are not five competing companies.

What Korean SMEs Can Take From This

Goodai is no longer small, at ₩1.5 trillion of revenue. But it started as a trading company with one licensed brand, and three parts of its method can be copied at any size:

1. License before you buy. Goodai spent two years running Beauty of Joseon under licence before owning it.
2. Sell first where demand is measurable. Amazon US gave the brand reviews, rankings and repeat-purchase data that a Korean shelf could not.
3. Let a contract manufacturer carry the factory risk. Kolmar makes the sunscreen. Goodai makes the brand.

The fourth part, buying brands with convertible bonds that must be repaid if the listing fails, is not one to copy without a very good banker. For comparison, APR (Medicube) built its own factory and listed on KOSPI. MEDIHEAL's L&P Cosmetic stayed private and stayed with one brand.

FAQ

Q: Who owns Beauty of Joseon?

Goodai Global Co., Ltd. (구다이글로벌), a Seoul company whose founder and CEO Cheon Joo-hyuk owned 96.4% of its shares at the end of 2025, according to its audited accounts on DART. Goodai licensed the brand in 2017 and bought it outright in 2019.

Q: Is Beauty of Joseon Korean, Japanese or Chinese?

Korean. Its owner is a Korean company in Guro-gu, Seoul. Its Relief Sun sunscreen is manufactured in Korea by Korea Kolmar, according to the Korean product notice.

Q: Is Beauty of Joseon an independent brand?

No. It belongs to Goodai Global, which also owns TIRTIR, SKIN1004 (through Craver Corporation), Round Lab and Skinfood.

Q: What company owns TIRTIR?

Goodai Global. It bought 50% in April 2024 and took control on 31 March 2025. It holds 75% of the shares, and a shareholder agreement gives it full control.

Q: Who owns SKIN1004 and Round Lab?

SKIN1004 is run by Craver Corporation, which Goodai controls through TM Beauty (Goodai owns 53.51% of TM Beauty). Round Lab is run by Seorin Company, which Goodai has owned 100% of, through a holding company, since August 2025.

Q: Is Goodai Global a public company?

Not yet. It is preparing a KOSPI listing, with early 2027 reported by the Korean press as the target. On 12 October 2026 we could not confirm that it had filed for the exchange's preliminary review.

Q: Did Amorepacific or L'Oréal buy Beauty of Joseon?

No. Amorepacific bought COSRX, which is a different deal. Beauty of Joseon has not been bought by Amorepacific, L'Oréal or any other large group. At the parent company, Cheon Joo-hyuk holds 96.4% of the shares. The big outside money comes from Korean private-equity and venture investors, who hold Goodai's convertible bonds.

Sources

• Goodai Global Co., Ltd., FY2025 consolidated audit report (Samduk Accounting Corporation), DART receipt no. 20260413002204, filed 13 April 2026: revenue, profit, balance sheet, regional sales, subsidiary table, business combinations, convertible bond, largest shareholder, head office, incorporation date
• Goodai Global Co., Ltd., FY2025 separate audit report, DART receipt no. 20260413002195, filed 13 April 2026: parent-only revenue and operating profit
• Goodai Global Co., Ltd., FY2024 consolidated audit report, DART receipt no. 20250430000504, filed 30 April 2025: 2023–2024 figures under Korean GAAP, TIRTIR and Laka stakes at cost, 96.5% shareholding
• DART: Goodai Global 2025 consolidated audit report
• Daily Secu (Korean), 1 October 2019: 2017 licence and full acquisition of Beauty of Joseon from Womens Stock
• Asia Economy (Korean), July 2024: interview with Cheon Joo-hyuk
• Market Kurly: Beauty of Joseon Relief Sun 50 ml product notice (manufacturer Korea Kolmar, made in Korea)
• Financial News (Korean), 4 April 2024: Kolmar's SPF technology in Beauty of Joseon sunscreen
• The Bell (Korean), 30 April 2024: Goodai's TIRTIR acquisition
• Seoul Economic Daily Signal (Korean), 2023: The Hahm Partners buys TIRTIR for ₩89bn
• Dealsite (Korean), 3 December 2024: TM Beauty consortium completes the Craver acquisition; Goodai revenue 2020–2023; Round Lab sellers
• BeautyMatter: Goodai Global acquires Round Lab
• Financial News (Korean), 1 September 2025: Skinfood acquisition closed
• BeautyMatter: Skinfood deal, Pine Tree Partners, 2018 rehabilitation
• The Fact (Korean): Laka bought and resold
• The Fact (Korean), 3 August 2026: 2025 results by subsidiary, intangibles and debt ratio, IPO plan
• IB Tomato (Korean), 8 July 2026: convertible-bond investors and amounts, ₩4.4 trillion and ₩10 trillion valuations, underwriters
• Insight Korea (Korean), 18 September 2026: bond reset terms, share split, Craver revenue
• Dealsite (Korean), 7 April 2026: preliminary-review plan and Craver's Japan listing
• Edaily (Korean), 12 August 2026: Craver's Tokyo listing plan and the duplicate-listing question
• Bizwatch (Korean), 4 February 2026: Hansung USA and the layered structure
• Herald Economy (Korean), 8 April 2026: Goodai Global Japan and 13,000 Japanese stores
• Beauty of Joseon official global store (product images); TIRTIR; SKIN1004; Round Lab; Skinfood US

Last updated: 12 October 2026. Company-level figures for 2023–2025 are from Goodai Global's audit reports on DART. The 2024 K-IFRS comparatives in the 2025 report are unaudited restatements. Figures for individual subsidiaries, deal prices other than those in the audit notes, investor amounts, valuations and IPO timing are as reported by the Korean press. Shares of revenue and the debt ratio are EpicKor calculations. Amazon availability was checked on 12 October 2026 and changes. Dollar figures use ₩1,360 to the dollar. EpicKor has no commercial relationship with Goodai Global or its brands, and nothing here is investment advice. We will refresh this page when Goodai files for its IPO.