More than 30 Korean beauty brands are set to take over a 2,000-square-foot space on Level 1 at 20 Hudson Yards, many of them making their first appearance in a U.S. store. The pop-up, called HYPER GROUND, will be stocked with skincare, makeup, fragrance and hair products from labels that shoppers here have mostly only been able to find online, if at all.
The launch date itself is a bit murky. According to Time Out, the shop was scheduled to open at The Shops at Hudson Yards on Friday, October 2. But Seoul Economic Daily reports the pop-up was set to begin operating on October 1, running for three months through the end of December. The pop-up is scheduled to open October 2, and the run is set to continue through December 31, seven days a week, per Time Out's reporting.
The pop-up is run under Shinsegae's HYPER GROUND platform, which the retailer uses to introduce emerging Korean beauty brands to shoppers abroad, according to Time Out. Most of the brands featured at Hudson Yards are set to make their physical retail debut in the United States, the outlet reports, giving New York shoppers a rare first look at labels that have not yet locked down major U.S. distribution.
What's Actually on the Shelves
The lineup includes Skit, MiHak, Bbia, Ongredients, Mujagi, Kundal and Yunjac, according to Global Cosmetics News. Time Out singles out two of the more distinctive names: skit, a skincare line founded by Korean model Irene Kim, and MiHak, a Seoul-based fragrance and lifestyle brand.
Shoppers will be able to browse the assortment across six themed areas, per the same Time Out report. Seoul Morning and City Glow focus on facial skincare and devices, Seoul Senses covers perfume and home fragrance, and Night Reset is built around scalp care, hair products and nighttime formulas. A designated event area will also host a different brand each week, running activities, special offers and gifts with purchase, the outlet notes.
Freebies for Early Shoppers
Opening day is set to feature two separate giveaways, according to Time Out's reporting. The first 200 visitors will receive a gift bag containing more than $100 worth of skincare, makeup, hair care and wellness products, with no purchase required. The first 100 customers who spend at least $100 will walk away with a separate gift worth more than $300. Weekly event details, including the rotating brand takeovers, are shared through the account @hyperground.us, per the outlet.
Why Shinsegae Is Betting on New York
Global Cosmetics News reports that Shinsegae is using HYPER GROUND to identify promising brands in Korea, test how they land with American shoppers, and give them an initial foothold in one of the industry's largest beauty markets. The New York edition dwarfs the brand's earlier pop-up at Printemps in Paris, which featured about 10 brands at Printemps Haussmann in 2025; Time Out reports the New York version is more than three times that size.
The timing lines up with a broader shift in how mainstream American retail is treating Korean beauty. Global Cosmetics News reports that Sephora, Ulta Beauty and Target have all been expanding their K-beauty assortments, while NielsenIQ data cited by WWD shows 29 percent of U.S. households now buy K-beauty products annually, up from 23 percent a year earlier and 19.7 percent two years before that.
New York has already shown an appetite for this kind of showcase. A Brooklyn exhibition called Haus of K: Seoul Beauty Lounge Season 1 ran from June 13 to August 31 and featured about 20 emerging South Korean beauty brands, drawing roughly 10,000 visitors over three months, with nearly 1,000 showing up on peak days, according to The Korea Daily. Amorepacific and Sephora have also tested the format locally, staging a two-day pop-up called Seoul in the City at 45 West 25th Street featuring Laneige, Innisfree, Aestura and Hanyul, per FashionNetwork.
Shinsegae's pop-up ambitions extend well beyond Manhattan. The company opened its first K-fashion pop-up in Bangkok in November 2023 before expanding into a broader international strategy, according to Seoul Economic Daily, and it more recently ran a K-brand showcase called the K-Experience Fair at a Central Department Store location in Thailand. For now, though, the Hudson Yards run will give New Yorkers a rare shot at Korean labels that have largely stayed out of reach of U.S. shelves.
