If you follow K-beauty outside Korea, Anua can feel almost impossible to avoid.
Its Heartleaf 77 Soothing Toner and Heartleaf Pore Control Cleansing Oil both appear repeatedly in English-language K-beauty coverage.
So there is an obvious question:
Is Anua actually this popular in Korea, too?
The answer is yes — but the Korean version of Anua is not a perfect mirror of the one you see abroad.
Anua has a long record of Korean retail success, not just one viral product or one current ranking. What changes is which product stands out.
That difference turns out to be more interesting than simply asking whether Anua is “popular in Korea.”
Hwahae data cited below was checked between Aug. 13 and Aug. 24, 2026. Category and Trending rankings are identified separately rather than combined into a single score. Review counts and ratings refer to the Korean Reviews shown on individual Hwahae product pages during the research period.
The Short Answer
Yes, Anua is genuinely popular in Korea.
The strongest evidence is its track record at Olive Young: Heartleaf 77 Soothing Toner ranked #1 in 2022, then #2 for three consecutive years from 2023 through 2025.
In 2024, Heartleaf 77 Clear Pad ranked #3 in the Pad category, while Heartleaf Pore Control Cleansing Oil received an Olive Young MD’s Pick in Cleansing.
Current Korean ranking data tells a more product-specific story:
| Anua product | Korean signal | International coverage |
|---|---|---|
| Heartleaf 77 Soothing Toner | #2 in Soothing Toners; multi-year Olive Young Awards history | Repeatedly featured in Allure’s K-beauty coverage |
| Heartleaf Pore Control Cleansing Oil | #8 in Cleansing Oils; 2024 Olive Young MD’s Pick | Frequently featured in Vogue’s K-beauty cleansing coverage |
| Heartleaf Low pH Deep Cleansing Water | #1 in Cleansing Waters | Much less visible in the major English-language coverage checked |
| Heartleaf 77 Clear Pad | #4 in Pores Toner Pads in the Aug. 24 snapshot; #3 Pad in 2024 Olive Young Awards | — |
| PDRN Hyaluronic Acid Capsule 100 Serum | #3 in Essences/Ampoules/Serums and #3 in Hydration | Anua’s broader PDRN line also appears in Allure’s 2026 toner-pad coverage |
These rankings should not be read vertically as if a #1 cleansing water automatically represents a stronger product than a #8 cleansing oil. They compete in different categories.
The useful comparison is horizontal:
How does each Anua product look inside Korea, and is that the same product international beauty media tends to emphasize?
Why One Ranking Can’t Tell Us How Popular a Brand Is
I ran into this problem while researching Korean toner pads.
A ranking can tell us where a specific product sits inside a particular category at a particular time. It cannot, by itself, tell us what an entire country thinks of a brand.
My earlier analysis of Korean toner-pad rankings shows why: different Korean ranking systems can produce very different lists.
That problem gets bigger with Anua because it competes across several categories.
Its toner competes with toners. Its cleansing oil competes with cleansing oils. Its cleansing water competes with cleansing waters. Its PDRN serum competes in a much broader serum category.
So I am not averaging these positions into a made-up “Anua Korea score.”
Instead, I am looking at three different signals:
current Korean category position, historical Korean retail recognition, and international editorial visibility.
Anua Was Popular in Korea Before Its Current Global Visibility
The Heartleaf 77 Soothing Toner’s Olive Young history is probably the clearest evidence in this article.
In the 2022 Olive Young Awards, it ranked #1 in Skin/Toner.
In the 2023 Olive Young Awards, it ranked #2.
It remained #2 in the 2024 Olive Young Awards, and the 2025 Olive Young Awards again placed Anua Heartleaf 77 Soothing Toner at #2 in Toner/Mist.
That is four consecutive award years near the top of one of Korea’s largest beauty retailers.
So whatever happened to Anua internationally afterward, its Korean popularity did not begin with overseas TikTok or Amazon visibility.
The 2024 awards also show that the brand had expanded beyond toner. Heartleaf 77 Clear Pad placed #3 in Pads, while Heartleaf Pore Control Cleansing Oil received an MD’s Pick in Cleansing.
That historical record is more useful than trying to judge the entire brand from one current ranking.
Heartleaf 77 Toner: The Korea and Global Stories Mostly Match
If one product anchors Anua in Korea, it is still Heartleaf 77 Soothing Toner.
On Hwahae’s Soothing Toner Category Ranking, updated Aug. 13, 2026, Anua ranked #2.
Hwahae’s Korean review view showed about 1,380 reviews with a 4.48 rating during this research period. That review base is useful context, but the stronger evidence of sustained Korean popularity is the toner’s four consecutive years near the top of Olive Young’s annual awards.
Internationally, the toner has also appeared repeatedly in Allure’s K-beauty coverage. In Allure’s 2023 Korean skincare guide for acne-prone skin, a dermatologist described Anua Heartleaf 77% Soothing Toner as a “very popular soothing toner in South Korea.”
That is unusually useful evidence for this article because the international recommendation itself points back to the product’s Korean popularity.
Heartleaf 77 Toner is one of the clearest cases where Anua’s Korean track record and international visibility overlap.
What International Beauty Media Highlights
Anua’s overseas visibility can be verified without relying on TikTok impressions alone.
Allure has repeatedly featured Heartleaf 77 Soothing Toner in its K-beauty coverage, including the 2023 article above.
Vogue has repeatedly featured Heartleaf Pore Control Cleansing Oil. It appears in Vogue’s Korean skincare routine guide, while the magazine’s cleansing-oil guide names it its Best K-Beauty pick.
So international attention is not limited to one passing mention or one viral list.
The more interesting question is whether the Anua products highlighted internationally are the same ones that currently stand out inside Korean beauty rankings.
Cleansing Is Where the Difference Becomes Clearer
Anua’s cleansers provide the clearest example.
The Internationally Visible One: Heartleaf Pore Control Cleansing Oil
Heartleaf Pore Control Cleansing Oil is one of the Anua products most frequently encountered in the English-language K-beauty coverage checked for this article.
Vogue names it its Best K-Beauty pick in its cleansing-oil guide.
It also has real Korean credentials. In the 2024 Olive Young Awards, the cleansing oil received an MD’s Pick in Cleansing.
But on Hwahae’s Cleansing Oils Category Ranking, updated Aug. 13, 2026, Anua ranked #8.
The separate Trending Cleansing Oils ranking placed it at #12 on Aug. 15. Those are different ranking signals and should not be merged.
The useful observation is simply that a product with substantial international visibility and historical Olive Young recognition is not currently leading Hwahae’s cleansing-oil category.
Hwahae’s Korean Reviews showed about 1,483 reviews with a 4.27 rating during this research period.
The Less Internationally Visible One: Heartleaf Low pH Deep Cleansing Water
Now look at Heartleaf Low pH Deep Cleansing Water.
On Hwahae’s Cleansing Waters Category Ranking, it sits at #1.
Its Hwahae review page showed roughly 3,172 Korean reviews with a 4.63 rating during the same research period.
The review counts are cumulative and should not be read as a direct popularity comparison between the two cleansers. Product age, category size, and the amount of time each listing has had to accumulate reviews can differ.
Still, the ranking data creates one of the clearest differences in Anua’s Korean and international profiles.
The cleansing oil is much easier to encounter in the major English-language K-beauty coverage checked here, while the cleansing water currently has a strong Korean signal inside its own category.
That does not mean cleansing water is more popular in Korea than cleansing oil as a format. The categories are different and should not be compared as though #1 and #8 came from the same race.
What it does show is:
International beauty coverage does not necessarily highlight the Anua cleanser that currently stands out most strongly inside its Korean category.
Are Korean Reviewers Using the Cleansing Oil and Water for Different Jobs?
There is a tempting explanation for that difference: perhaps cleansing water and cleansing oil simply occupy different roles in Korean routines.
The review data supports a narrower version of that idea.
Hwahae’s review analysis for Heartleaf Low pH Deep Cleansing Water emphasizes removing light makeup, sunscreen, and impurities, while reviewers also mention limitations with waterproof makeup.
For Heartleaf Pore Control Cleansing Oil, review language places more emphasis on makeup removal, sebum, blackheads, and pore-related cleansing.
That suggests Korean reviewers are not necessarily evaluating the two products for exactly the same job.
The cleansing water is often discussed in the context of lighter cleansing, while the oil receives more heavy-cleansing and sebum-related language.
That is as far as the evidence takes us. It does not prove a nationwide Korean cleansing habit.
Heartleaf 77 Clear Pad: Popular in Korea, Just Not No. 1 Right Now
The Heartleaf 77 Clear Pad is another example of why historical and current data need to be read together.
In the Korean Hwahae toner-pad snapshot checked on Aug. 24, 2026, Anua ranked #4 in Pores Toner Pads.
beplain and UIQ were above it in that snapshot.
As I found in my comparison of Korean toner-pad rankings, that #4 position is useful as a snapshot, but it should not be treated as the entire story.
In the 2024 Olive Young Awards, Heartleaf 77 Clear Pad ranked #3 in the Pad category.
So the more accurate description is:
Anua’s toner pad has a real Korean award history and remains visible in current rankings, but it is not currently leading the pore-pad category in the Aug. 24 snapshot.
PDRN Shows That Anua Is Moving Beyond Heartleaf
Anua’s Korean story is no longer only about heartleaf.
The Anua PDRN Hyaluronic Acid Capsule 100 Serum currently ranks:
#3 in Essences/Ampoules/Serums
#3 in Hydration
on Hwahae.
Its Korean Reviews showed more than 12,000 reviews with a rating around 4.61 during this research period.
That is a meaningful current Korean signal in a broad skincare category.
If you’re wondering what PDRN actually means in Korean skincare, I explain the ingredient — and the difference between topical PDRN and injectable treatments — in my guide to PDRN in Korean skincare.
There is also a separate global-facing signal: Hwahae named the same serum #1 Hydration Essence/Ampoule/Serum in its 2026 Global Picks.
Global Picks reflects international consumer buzz, so I treat it separately from Hwahae’s Korean Category Ranking.
Anua’s broader PDRN line is also appearing in international editorial coverage. In 2026, Allure named Anua PDRN 100 Hyaluronic Acid Glow Pad its Best for Sensitive Skin pick among Korean toner pads.
This is a different product from the PDRN serum discussed here, so it should not be treated as direct evidence for the serum itself. It does, however, provide another signal that Anua’s newer PDRN line is gaining visibility outside Korea.
PDRN therefore matters for another reason: it suggests Anua is building a newer product identity beyond the Heartleaf line that established the brand.
So, What’s the Answer?
Yes.
Four consecutive years near the top of Olive Young’s toner awards, current Korean category rankings across multiple products, and the continued strength of newer launches such as its PDRN serum provide enough evidence to answer the question directly.
Anua is genuinely popular in Korea, but Korea and international K-beauty media don’t always spotlight the same Anua products. Both can be true without being true for the same product.