Brand Comparison

Beauty of Joseon vs Papa Recipe

A head-to-head comparison of two popular K-beauty brands. Which one is right for your skin?

Our Pick

Beauty of Joseon

Higher editor rating (9 vs 8.6)

Beauty of Joseon Papa Recipe

Rating9/108.6/10

Price RangeBudget ($)Budget ($)

Founded20142014

OriginSouth KoreaSeoul, South Korea

Products193

Best ForCombo, Oily, Sensitive, DryDry, normal, Mature, Sensitive

PhilosophyHanbang (traditional Korean herbal medicine) meets modern cosmetic science. Heritage ingredients like rice, ginseng, and propolis in contemporary formulations.The K-beauty family brand that turned a single honey mask into a global category — warm, unpretentious, and genuinely well-formulated.

Beauty of Joseon

Beauty of Joseon has quietly become one of the most impressive value propositions in K-beauty. Their Relief Sun is arguably the best budget sunscreen globally, and the Glow Serum delivers genuine results at a price that undercuts competitors by half. The hanbang angle could be gimmicky, but they back it with solid formulation science.

Pros

✓ Exceptional price-to-performance ratio
✓ Relief Sun SPF 50+ is a standout product
✓ Hanbang ingredients backed by real formulation
✓ Elegant textures despite budget pricing

Cons

✗ Limited product range compared to larger brands
✗ Hanbang marketing can feel vague
✗ Some products sell out frequently

Papa Recipe

Papa Recipe is the quiet Korean family-run brand behind the Bombee Honey Mask Pack — the sheet mask your friend brought back from Seoul in 2016 that made you reconsider what a sheet mask could be. The lineup leans on manuka honey, propolis, and royal jelly; the packaging is unfussy; the masks genuinely work. Not the flashiest brand on the shelf, but the one your Korean aunt actually uses.

Pros