Supplements occupy an awkward middle ground: regulated as a food category rather than as drugs, but with ingredient rules that catch a meaningful share of Korean products. The category is importable, with conditions worth understanding before you order in quantity.
How supplements are regulated
Dietary supplements are a food category in the US and do not require pre-market approval, but ingredients must be either present in the food supply before a cutoff date or notified to the FDA as a new dietary ingredient. Korean formulations frequently include botanicals that have not gone through that notification. Manufacturers must also follow good manufacturing practice rules, and foreign producers not exporting to the US have no obligation to meet the US version.
Label claims are the common failure
A supplement may make structure and function claims but not claims to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease. Korean health functional food packaging carries government-approved functional claims translated in ways that read as disease claims in English, which can reclassify the product as an unapproved drug. Korean packaging frequently states an approved efficacy in the local system, and a literal English translation of that phrasing is often the exact problem.
Ingredients to check
Korean formulations combining ginseng or deer antler with other botanicals, products containing animal-derived ingredients, and anything with a pharmaceutical-adjacent compound. Products containing ingredients that are prescription drugs in the US are refused outright regardless of quantity. Products marketed for weight loss or sexual performance receive the most scrutiny globally because of a history of undeclared pharmaceutical adulteration. Checking the ingredient panel against US supplement listings before ordering resolves most of this.
Personal quantity practice
Personal-use quantities of mainstream supplements from major Korean producers in sealed retail packaging are imported routinely. The working standard is a supply consistent with one person's consumption, generally up to a few months. Beyond that the shipment reads as commercial and faces full import requirements. Splitting a large purchase across multiple shipments to stay under a perceived limit is also a poor idea, since the pattern is more conspicuous than the volume.
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Start a buy-for-me order →Frequently asked
Is red ginseng extract acceptable?
Panax ginseng is well established in the US supply. Combination products with less common botanicals carry more risk.
Does the Korean health functional food mark help?
No. It is a Korean approval and carries no standing in the US.
Can I import supplements to resell?
That is a commercial import requiring US-compliant labeling, facility registration and full ingredient compliance.