February 20, 2026
SEOUL – A South Korean cosmetics brand is facing accusations of racism after promoting one of its blush products with the phrase “cheeks like a Mongolian baby,” according to online communities Thursday.
The brand, which specializes in color cosmetics such as blush and lipstick, released a moist textured blush in December last year. In posts shared across multiple online platforms, it described one of the nine shades, “Mocha pop,” by likening it to the flushed cheeks of a “lovely Mongolian baby.”
The marketing copy drew backlash after Mongolian digital creator Haliun shared a video titled “Did a Korean brand just stereotype Mongolian kids?,” calling the wording outdated.
“As a Mongolian, I can say that red cheeks are often associated with people who lived a nomadic lifestyle because of harsh weather conditions. To be honest, I’m quite disappointed we’re still doing this in 2026,” she said in the video, which was uploaded on Jan. 20 and has since attracted about 270,000 views.
Local users echoed the criticism, with some arguing that the brand should have been more careful with its wording given the growing global influence of Korean cosmetics.
“The marketer who wrote it might have just thought Mongolian babies are cute and didn’t mean any harm. But now that K-beauty products are popular around the world, we should be more aware of how things can come across as racist,” one user wrote on Threads.
“Would it feel okay if an eye product from abroad was marketed using ‘Korean women’s double eyelids’ because Koreans are known for being good at double eyelid surgery? If you think about it the other way around, regardless of the intent, it would inevitably come across as racist,” another user commented.
With criticism mounting, the company recently changed the description to “a lovely deep mocha rose that looks gently warmed by the sun.”
Controversies over racially insensitive language are not new in the beauty marketing sector.
In September last year, a cosmetics brand came under fire after using the term “soil” to describe the shade of one of its foundation products. It sparked criticism for linking the product to the skin of Black people, as the term has frequently been used as a racial slur.
“If discriminatory messages keep appearing in marketing, they can gradually reinforce racist views. It may lead some consumers to think, ‘This may be racist, but it’s acceptable to this extent,'” said Lee Young-ae, a professor of consumer studies at Incheon National University.
“Even if it doesn’t have to be regulated by law, companies should still have a system to review how certain expressions are perceived in different cultural contexts. For K-beauty brands targeting global consumers, that kind of careful screening is essential.”