Olive Young draws crowds at Milano Olympics Korea House with K-beauty booth

Visitors gather at CJ Olive Young’s booth at the Korea House during the 2026 Milano–Cortina Winter Olympics Courtesy of CJ Olive Young — Visitors gather at CJ Olive Young’s booth at the Korea House during the 2026 Milano–Cortina Winter Olympics. Courtesy of CJ Olive Young

SEOUL, February 14 (AJP) - CJ Olive Young has opened a promotional booth at the Korea House during the 2026 Milano–Cortina Winter Olympics, showcasing K-beauty products and supporting South Korea’s national team.

According to the company on Saturday, Olive Young has been operating a “Lip Touch-Up Bar” since Feb. 6 at the Korea House in Milan, allowing visitors to experience K-beauty products firsthand.

The booth, featuring color cosmetics from Olive Young’s private label brand Colorgram, has drawn heavy foot traffic, at one point prompting temporary crowd control measures due to overwhelming demand.

Visitors have reportedly flooded staff with inquiries about where the featured products can be purchased.

A “K-beauty kit” provided by CJ Olive Young to South Korea’s national team during the 2026 Milano–Cortina Winter Olympics Courtesy of CJ Olive Young — A “K-beauty kit” provided by CJ Olive Young to South Korea’s national team during the 2026 Milano–Cortina Winter Olympics. Courtesy of CJ Olive Young

Olive Young has also provided South Korea’s Olympic athletes with travel-sized “K-beauty kits” comprising 18 items. The kits include six skincare products covering the full K-beauty routine from cleansing to masks, six snack items, and travel-size hair, body and dental care products. The company said the kits were designed with athletes’ extended overseas stay in mind.

The growing popularity of K-beauty was also evident during the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit held in Gyeongju last October, when Olive Young saw a surge in sales at its Hwangridan-gil store.

At the time, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted photos on social media of 13 Korean cosmetic products she purchased at Olive Young, describing them as “South Korea skincare finds.” The items included sheet masks, cleansing products and lip balms.

Diana Carney, spouse of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, also said she received a shopping list from her daughter, who has a strong interest in Korea and specifically requested K-beauty products from Olive Young.

Last month, Olive Young signed an official partnership with Sephora, the world’s largest beauty retail chain, accelerating its global expansion.

In the second half of this year, the company plans to launch curated “K-beauty zones” across six regions, including the United States and Canada in North America, as well as major Asian markets, through Sephora’s online and offline channels.

Olive Young currently operates a global online mall and plans to open its first U.S. offline store in May, followed by additional overseas locations.

“The booth was designed to raise the visibility and status of K-beauty at the Olympic stage,” an Olive Young official said. “We will continue efforts to ensure that customers around the world can easily experience and access a wide range of brands.”

Kim Hee-su khs@ajupress.com