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Korean functional cosmetics, explained기능성화장품

When a Korean box says 기능성화장품, the product was reviewed by, or reported to, Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) for a specific effect — brightening, wrinkles, UV protection and seven more. Here is what each claim means.

What the label shows

A functional cosmetic must carry the words 기능성화장품 (or the MFDS symbol for it), and the effect and directions that were reviewed or reported. A box reviewed for two effects is often called 이중기능성 (dual-function); three, 삼중기능성.

Products in the last four groups below must also print “질병의 예방 및 치료를 위한 의약품이 아님” — “not a medicine for preventing or treating disease” — right under the words 기능성화장품.

The 11 types of functional cosmetic

As defined in the Enforcement Rule of the Cosmetics Act, Article 2.

#	On the box	What it means
1	미백	Brightening — prevents melanin from building up, helping to stop spots and freckles forming
2	미백	Brightening — lightens melanin already in the skin
3	주름 개선	Wrinkle improvement — gives skin elasticity to ease or improve wrinkles
4	태닝	Tanning — protects from strong sun so skin tans evenly
5	자외선 차단	UV protection — blocks or scatters UV light to protect the skin
6	염모	Hair colour — changes hair colour, including bleaching (temporary colour excluded)
7	제모	Hair removal — removes body hair (physical removal, such as wax strips, excluded)
8	탈모 증상 완화	Hair loss — helps relieve hair-loss symptoms (products that just coat hair to look thicker excluded) must say “not a medicine”
9	여드름성 피부 완화	Acne-prone skin — helps soothe it; only rinse-off cleansing products must say “not a medicine”
10	피부장벽	Skin barrier — restores the barrier to help relieve itching and similar problems must say “not a medicine”
11	튼살	Stretch marks — helps fade the red lines must say “not a medicine”

Ingredients behind the claims

Korea publishes active ingredients that can be used for some claims without new efficacy data. These are the ones on our pages; companies can also prove other ingredients in their own review.

Brightening (미백)

Wrinkle improvement (주름 개선)

UV filters are listed on Korean sunscreen labels. Ingredient names and functional status come from the Korea Cosmetic Association dictionary.

What “미백” really means

미백 literally translates as “whitening”, which confuses many shoppers. In Korean law it means the two brightening types above: helping to stop melanin building up into spots and freckles, or lightening melanin already there. It is about dark spots and uneven tone, not bleaching the skin.

Sources

Checked 26 October 2026. Rules change — the official texts above are the final word.