With Samsung Electronics remaining on top, an annual list of Korean brand value showed beauty and content brands picking up momentum in a fast pace.

According to global brand consulting firm Interbrand, cosmetics brand AmorePacific, home to the premium brand Sulwhasoo, was the second-fastest growing brand in terms of brand value in 2015. Breaking into the top 10 for the first time, AmorePacific’s brand value grew at 41 percent to reach 2.44 trillion won ($2.1 billion). 

Premium cosmetics rival LG Household & Health Care, which owns the History of Whoo brand, came in at 26th with 29.7 percent growth.

The two cosmetics companies’ growth is impressive when considering that the average growth rate of the top 50 brands was just 3 percent. The fastest-growing brand was Coway, an air and water purifier manufacturer. Its value grew 44 percent to 651.8 million won, the survey added.

Samsung Electronics topped the list of the most valuable brands, but the value itself was unchanged from last year’s 50.79 trillion won.

Hyundai Motors and Kia motors kept their second- and third-place spots with 12.45 trillion won and 6.25 trillion won, respectively.

These traditional strongholds were chased by Korea’s largest portal site, Naver, which grew over 27 percent to 3.75 trillion won to land in the top 5 for the first time.

All together, the top 50 Korean brands by brand value were collectively worth 128 trillion won, the top five brands -- Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, SK Telecom and Naver -- hold 60 percent of that collective worth.

Content and entertainment giant CJ E&M, which has been strengthening its productions across film, TV, and Web content, was the fifth-fastest riser at 23.1 percent.

The top 50 welcomed new entrants in content as well. Game developer NCSoft and entertainment agency SM Entertainment joined the list for the first time, entering at 30th and 46th place, respectively.

According to Interbrand Korea CEO Moon Ji-hun in a presentation on the “Anatomy of Growth” at the Best Korea Brands 2016 announcement, these brands were able to grow quickly thanks to their strength in success factors such as clarity, relevance and engagement.

For example, he noted AmorePacific’s clear message of being an “Asian Beauty Creator,” CJ E&M’s ability to quickly adapt to changing consumer demands, and SM Entertainment’s continuous two-way engagement with fans and the general public through sites like the Coex SMTOWN Artium in Seoul.

The Best Korea Brands list has been announced each year since 2013 by Interbrand, which has been compiling a list of the 100 top global brands since 2010. The rankings are based on Interbrand’s formula for monetizing brand value, which is defined as the “net present value of future earnings generated by the brand alone,” according to the firm.

By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)