I went to photograph this one and could not have bought the size I wanted.
Two of the four beplain mung bean items on the Olive Young shelf had SOLD OUT on the electronic price label — the 40ml and the 80ml. That is not a detail you can get from outside Korea, and it tells you more about this cleanser than any ingredient list will.
What the shelf actually said
| Item | Price | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 녹두 약산성 클렌징폼 40ml | ₩5,520 | 🔴 SOLD OUT |
| 녹두 약산성 클렌징폼 80ml | ₩10,580 | 🔴 SOLD OUT |
| 녹두 클렌징폼 160ml 더블기획 | ₩26,000 → ₩23,900 → ₩22,800 | in stock |
| 녹두 밀크 필링 젤 120ml + 40ml | ₩22,000 → ₩17,600 → ₩16,720 | in stock |
Read that column again. The two small sizes — the trial size and the single-tube size — are the ones that cleared. What is left is the 160ml double bundle, the size you buy when you already know you like it.
That is the shape of a product with repeat buyers, not a product having a viral moment. Viral products clear the big bundles first because people panic-buy. Staples clear the small sizes, because that is what new buyers pick up and what regulars grab to top up.
[🇰🇷 Kate 확인 필요] — 재입고 여부. 몇 주 뒤 같은 매대를 다시 보면 이 관찰이 일시 품절인지 상시인지 확정된다.
The two numbers printed on the box
The Korean packaging does something English packaging almost never does: it prints the sales figure.
2천만 돌파 국민녹두폼 — “20 million units passed, the national mung bean foam”
And two award badges from the same year:
2025 OLIVE YOUNG AWARDS — 5관왕 (five category wins)
2025 OLIVE YOUNG AWARDS — 2위 (second place)
A word on 국민 (“national”): Korean marketing uses it the way English uses “everyone’s” — 국민 간식, 국민 가수. Calling something 국민녹두폼 is a claim that it is the default, not a premium choice. Brands do not print that unless the volume backs it, because Korean consumers are unforgiving about it.
Twenty million units against a domestic market of about 52 million people is the part worth sitting with.
Why “mung bean,” and why 약산성
녹두 (mung bean) has a long history in Korean skincare as a cleansing ingredient — it was traditionally ground and used as a wash powder. beplain’s line leans on that, which is why the packaging is green and why the range is built around cleansing rather than treatment.
The other word on the tube matters more for buying decisions: 약산성, weakly acidic — pH-balanced. Korean cleanser marketing is organised around pH in a way Western marketing is not. The default assumption on this shelf is that a high-pH foaming cleanser strips the barrier, so “약산성” is the reassurance that does the selling. If you have been told to avoid stripping cleansers, this is the Korean shelf’s answer to that.
The naming split you will hit when you order
English search interest for this brand does not agree with itself:
| Search term | Monthly (US) |
|---|---|
| beplain | 5,400 |
| beplain mung bean cleanser | 2,900 |
| beplain cleansing oil | 2,400 |
| beplain mung bean cleansing oil | 1,600 |
| beplain mung bean ph-balanced cleansing foam | 1,000 |
| beplain mung bean | 1,000 |
People are searching for a cleanser, an oil, and a foam more or less interchangeably. The item Olive Young shelves and awards is the pH-balanced cleansing foam, and next to it a milk peeling gel — both confirmed in the photo above.
[🇰🇷 Kate 확인 필요] — 매대에 beplain 녹두 클렌징 오일도 있었는지. 영어권에서 2,400 + 1,600 이 오일을 찾는데, 한국 매대에 있는지 확인되면 그게 이 섹션의 결론이 된다. 없으면 “영어권이 찾는 오일은 한국 매대에 없다”가 결론.
So before you order: check whether the listing photo shows a tube (foam) or a bottle (oil). They are not the same product.
What Koreans actually reach for
| Korea | English-speaking | |
|---|---|---|
| Brand | 비플레인 — 2,400 | beplain — 5,400 |
This is one of the more balanced brands I have looked at. Unlike Beauty of Joseon (110,000 English against 5,400 Korean) or Dr.Groot (49,500 against 1,300), beplain is only about twice as searched abroad as at home. Both markets rate it, which is usually a good sign for a first purchase — you are not buying an export-only brand that Koreans have never met.
⚠️ A caveat on the numbers: Korea runs most of its searches through Naver rather than Google, so Google’s Korean figures understate domestic interest. I use them for relative comparison inside one market, never as a headcount. The award badges and the 20-million figure are the brand’s own printed claims, verified only as being printed on the box.
Who this is for
Buy it if: you want a Korean daily foaming cleanser with the widest domestic adoption behind it, you specifically want a pH-balanced (약산성) foam rather than a stripping one, or you are shopping in Korea and can take the 160ml double bundle at ₩22,800.
Skip it if: you want an oil or balm first cleanse — this is a second-step foam. For the oil end of the Korean shelf, Manyo’s Pure Soybean is the one Olive Young labels No. 1 for blackheads.
Note if: you were hoping for the small trial size. It was sold out when I looked, and if you are in Korea the 40ml is the one to grab when it comes back.
[🇰🇷 Kate 확인 필요] — 실사용 후기. 써봤다면 1인칭 문단(거품·당김·헹굼 후 느낌). 안 써봤다면 이 섹션은 비워두고 매대·데이터 근거만으로 간다. 사용 경험을 창작하지 말 것.
Where to get it
- 🛒 beplain Mung Bean Cleansing Foam on Amazon — check the listing photo for a tube (foam), not a bottle (oil)
- 🛒 Shop Korean skincare at Jolse — search “beplain mung bean” (K-beauty retailer, ships worldwide)
- 🇰🇷 In Korea: Olive Young. The 160ml double bundle at ₩22,800 is the in-stock option; 40ml and 80ml were sold out in early September 2026
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, and we may earn a small commission from other links — at no extra cost to you. Nothing here was gifted or sponsored.
How I put this together
Not a lab test, not a sponsored placement. What is here: the beplain shelf photographed at an Olive Young in Seoul, the electronic price labels and sold-out flags read on 3 September 2026, the award badges and sales figure as printed on the packaging, and Google search volumes pulled for Korea and the US in the same month. Where I could not verify something myself, I have said so instead of filling it in.
FAQ
Is beplain mung bean a foam or an oil?
The product Olive Young shelves and awards is a pH-balanced cleansing foam in a tube. English searches also turn up an oil, so check the packaging shape on the listing before ordering.
How much is it in Korea?
₩22,800 for the 160ml double bundle as of early September 2026. The 40ml (₩5,520) and 80ml (₩10,580) were both sold out.
What does 약산성 mean?
Weakly acidic — pH-balanced. It is the Korean shelf’s shorthand for a cleanser that is not expected to strip the skin barrier.
Is it really 20 million units?
That is the figure printed on the Korean box (2천만 돌파). It is the brand’s own claim; what I can confirm is that it is printed there, alongside two 2025 Olive Young Awards badges.
Is it sold at Olive Young?
Yes — confirmed in person, September 2026, with two of four sizes out of stock.
Keep reading
The cleansing pair, and where it leads:
- Manyo Pure Soybean Cleansing Oil — the first cleanse that goes before this
- Summer blackheads and oily pores, the Korean way — the full routine
- 5 best Korean skincare products for glass skin — what comes after cleansing
Affiliate disclosure: Some links in this post are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy through them, My Korea Palette may earn a small commission — at no extra cost to you. I only feature products I genuinely rate. Full disclosure.
