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South Korea dethroned France as the biggest cosmetics exporter to the U.S., with over $10 billion in annual exports driven by K-beauty’s global popularity.

The secret is rapid product development: Manufacturers like Cosmax can launch new products in 3-6 months, compared with 1-3 years elsewhere.

Low barriers to entry fuel entrepreneurship, but intense competition means over 8,800 cosmetics brands went out of business last year.

SEOUL — Jo Min-Su was working toward a computer science doctorate at one of South Korea’s best universities when he stumbled on his calling: building a better lip gloss.

The 30-year-old sat near his booth at Seoul Beauty Week, pulled out a stick of his b

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