Kendall Jenner spotted at Medicube's pop-up store in New York

Korean beauty tech firm APR said Thursday its flagship brand Medicube wrapped up a pop-up store on Broadway in New York, drawing more than 12,000 visitors from Oct. 24 to Nov. 2. Under the theme “Glow Mode On,” the pop-up showcased Medicube’s skin care lineup and its popular AGE-R beauty devices, which have gained global attention for their at-home skincare technology. Notably, American fashion model Kendall Jenner, well known to be a frequent user of Medicube products, made a surprise visit to

Nov. 13, 2025

Counterfeit K-beauty floods the market, most shoppers can't tell the difference

A wave of counterfeit Korean beauty products is sweeping across global markets, with knockoffs so convincing that many consumers don’t know they’ve been duped until it’s too late. This year alone, losses tied to intellectual property theft targeting South Korean beauty brands have skyrocketed to 22 billion won ($15.1 million), according to data from the Korea Customs Service released by lawmaker Cha Gyu-geun's office. That marks a staggering 24-fold increase from last year. The vast majority of

Nov. 7, 2025

Consumer prices rise 2.4% in Oct., fastest pace in 15 months

South Korea's consumer prices grew at the fastest pace in over a year in October, government data showed Tuesday. Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, increased 2.4 percent from a year earlier last month, according to the data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics. It marks the largest on-year increase since July 2024, when inflation climbed 2.6 percent. In 2025, inflation had remained above the Bank of Korea's 2 percent target for four consecutive months through April before slowing to

Nov. 4, 2025

Buldak noodle prices rise in US for first time in three years

Samyang Foods has raised the retail price of its flagship Buldak series by around 14 percent in the United States, its first price hike in three years, following the US tariff increase on instant noodle imports. According to industry sources Friday, the price of Buldak Original and Carbonara five-pack products sold on Walmart’s online store rose from $6.88 to $7.84 — up about 14 percent. Similar price adjustments have been observed across other major US retailers. Since October, Samyang Foods ha

Oct. 31, 2025

Topten Kids to recall girls' clothing over 'come inside me' design

Topten Kids, a South Korean children’s clothing brand, said Thursday it will recall all of its girls’ sweatshirt sets following criticism over sexually suggestive English designs printed on the garments. The “Cha Yoon Art Fleece Setup,” a pink sweatshirt set, was released in collaboration with a local artist and features an illustration of a rabbit peeking out from a sock alongside the phrase “Come inside me.” Criticism soon poured in that the sexual connotations of the expression made it inappr

Oct. 30, 2025

Paris Baguette opens new store at Manila’s NAIA airport

Paris Baguette, the bakery chain under South Korean food conglomerate SPC Group, announced Wednesday that it has opened a new store at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, the Philippines. The NAIA location marks Paris Baguette’s third outlet in a major international airport, following its openings at Singapore Changi Airport and Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia. The new store is situated in the recently remodeled food hall of NAIA Terminal 3, an area that sees an average

Oct. 29, 2025

KGC’s JungKwanJang joins nationwide campaign for APEC summit

Korea Ginseng Corp. said Monday that its flagship brand JungKwanJang will launch a nationwide campaign in support of the APEC summit taking place this week in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. The campaign aims to raise public awareness of the summit while introducing Korea’s health food culture to international visitors. Throughout the summit, JungKwanJang will display messages of support through its retail stores and official website, and host a comment event on its official Instagram accou

Oct. 27, 2025

Hana sets up board-level consumer protection body

Hana Financial Group said Sunday that it will become the first financial group in South Korea to establish a “Consumer Protection Committee” within its board of directors and implement a groupwide consumer protection governance system. This reorganization aims to ensure that financial consumer protection is managed directly by the group’s top decision-making body, positioning it as a core value and competitive strength beyond simple legal compliance or risk management. The existing Consumer Risk

Oct. 26, 2025

Coway tops water sommelier contest with award-winning purifier

South Korean home appliance maker Coway said Wednesday it has received the highest rating at the Korea International Sommelier Association’s annual bottled and purified water competition. The company also became the first in the industry to win the Diamond Prize, given to brands that have maintained a Gold rating or higher for six consecutive years. The contest is conducted through a blind tasting process. This year's top-rated Switch water purifier features an electrostatic adsorption-based nan

Oct. 22, 2025

Amorepacific’s Hera enters Japan’s top department stores

Amorepacific’s luxury beauty brand Hera is expanding its presence in Japan by entering major Japanese department stores, Hankyu and Mitsukoshi, the company announced Tuesday. Since entering Japan in July 2023, Hera has operated a series of pop-up stores at major department stores to gauge consumer response and raise brand awareness. In September, the brand opened its first official store at Hankyu Umeda Main Store in Osaka, followed this month by its second store at Ginza Mitsukoshi in Tokyo. Ac

Oct. 21, 2025

Paris Baguette opens first store in Mongolia

SPC Group, the operator of South Korea’s leading bakery franchise Paris Baguette, said Monday it has opened its first store in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. In 2024, Paris Baguette signed a master franchise agreement with Foodcorp, one of Mongolia’s top food and restaurant companies with a wide portfolio spanning food manufacturing, distribution and dining services. The new store, located on the ground floor of Zaisan Square, a major shopping mall in southern Ulaanbaatar, accommodates ar

Oct. 20, 2025

Musinsa Tokyo pop-up showcases K-fashion’s rising appeal

Musinsa, South Korea's leading online fashion retailer, has achieved major success with its Musinsa Tokyo Pop-up Store 2025, drawing over 20,000 visitors in its first week and highlighting surging Japanese interest in Korean fashion. The pop-up event, being held in Tokyo’s Shibuya district until Oct. 26, has quickly become one of the area’s most notable fashion and beauty attractions, welcoming more than 10,000 visitors within the first three days. "From the first day, we were able to see the hi

Oct. 13, 2025

CU's most expensive sale ever: $54,000 bottle of 65-year-old whisky

South Korean convenience store chain CU set a new industry record for the highest-priced sale: a bottle of rare whisky that sold for 75 million won ($54,000), according to industry insiders and local reports. The 65-year-old Glen Grant whisky, part of CU’s gift lineup for Chuseok, comes from the Splendor Collection, made from carefully selected rare Scotch distillates and limited to just 151 bottles worldwide. The retailer reportedly did not expect the product to sell, but it did -- making the p

Oct. 1, 2025

Musinsa to open 100 China stores by 2030, starting in Shanghai

Musinsa, South Korea’s top online fashion retailer, will open its first brick-and-mortar outlets in Shanghai in December as part of its plan to roll out more than 100 stores across China by 2030, aiming to capture the country’s trend-driven youth market and generate over 1 trillion won ($712 million) in cumulative sales. Musinsa Standard — the company’s modern basic casual wear brand — will open a flagship store in mid-December at the Parkson Shopping Mall on Huaihai Road, one of Shanghai’s busi

Sept. 30, 2025

Daewoong's Easydew sales top W100b, eyes record revenue in 2025

Easydew, the skin care brand from Daewoong Pharmaceutical, said Sunday it surpassed 100 billion won ($70.9 million) in cumulative sales between January and July this year, marking about 200 percent growth from the same period last year. The company expects to set a new annual revenue record on the back of strong product competitiveness and diversified sales channels. The brand’s growth has been driven by two flagship products — the “Melatoning One Day Ampoule” and “Mela B Toning Ampoule Cushion”

Sept. 28, 2025