Korean Cosmetics Expiry Date: How to Read the Label

Every Korean cosmetics label must show either an expiry date (사용기한, the last day the unopened product should be used) or a period after opening (개봉 후 사용기간, how many months it stays usable once opened).

When the period after opening is used, the manufacturing date must be printed next to it. So a single date means an expiry date, while an open-jar icon with a number such as “12M” plus a manufacturing date means the period-after-opening format.

The rule comes from Article 10 of Korea’s Cosmetics Act¹. The five steps below show how to read a Korean cosmetics expiry date correctly. This guide covers reading the label only, not how much shelf life a wholesale delivery should have.

Step 1: Work out which format the label uses

Article 10(1)6 lists “expiry date or period after opening” as a mandatory item, and the proviso in the same paragraph adds that the manufacturing date must accompany a period after opening. You will see one of two patterns:

The dates and months in the table are examples. Exact styling (dots, hyphens, English abbreviations) varies between brands.

A government plain-language notice on Easylaw² explains that the 2012 revision of the Cosmetics Act made the expiry date or period after opening mandatory on the container as well as the outer packaging.

Step 2: Read a Korean cosmetics expiry date in the right order

Korean domestic labels normally write dates year-month-day, so 2028.05.10 means 10 May 2028. Many add EXP or USE BY in English.

Export packaging can differ. The EU Cosmetics Regulation, Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, Article 19(1)(c)³, requires the date of minimum durability to be expressed as month and year, or day, month and year, in that order, preceded by the words “best used before the end of” or a symbol.

A Korean brand’s EU-market pack may therefore read 05/2028 or 10.05.2028. Misreading the order can put your stock calculation off by months, so check which market the label was made for before you count.

Step 3: Read the period-after-opening icon

The period after opening is usually printed inside or next to an open-jar icon as a number followed by M for months: 6M is six months, 12M twelve months, 24M twenty-four months. Most Korean brands use the same shape as the PAO symbol defined in Annex VII of the EU regulation, so it is familiar to buyers in other markets.

Always look for the manufacturing date that must accompany it. A period after opening tells you how long the product lasts once opened; it does not tell you how long the product can be stored unopened. If you are buying in volume, ask the supplier or brand for the unopened shelf life rather than guessing.

There is also a difference in the rules themselves. In the EU, the PAO symbol replaces a date only when the minimum durability exceeds 30 months. In Korea, the manufacturer may choose either format.

Step 4: Check both the container and the carton

Even when there is an outer carton, the container itself must carry the product name, the operator’s name, the batch number and the expiry date or period after opening (Article 10(2)). If the carton and container show different dates, raise it with the supplier, quoting the batch number. On tubes and small jars the information is often printed on the crimp or the base.

Small products of 10 ml or 10 g or less may drop many label items, but not the expiry date or period after opening; that information stays even on minis.

Step 5: Compare with the rules where you will sell

Once you have read the Korean label correctly, check whether your market accepts it. For example, a product sold into the EU that shows only a period after opening needs evidence that its minimum durability is over 30 months. Use the guidance of the regulator in your country as the reference.

For the other mandatory items on the pack, see Korean cosmetics label requirements. For how export and domestic packs differ, see export vs domestic version cosmetics.

Related reading: Korean cosmetics label requirements · Export vs domestic version cosmetics

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Notes

1. Korea’s Ministry of Government Legislation, 화장품법, verified 2026-10-25. ↩

2. Korea’s Ministry of Government Legislation, 화장품 포장(용기)의 사용기한 표시의무제 등이 실시됩니다., verified 2026-10-25. ↩

3. The National Archives (UK), Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on cosmetic products (recast) (Text with EEA relevance), verified 2026-10-25. ↩