Dongsuh Foods launches summer lineup at Maxim Plant

South Korean food and beverage manufacturer Dongsuh Foods said Friday its flagship store Maxim Plant has launched its summer menu under the theme "Blue in Maxim Plant." Located in Hannam-dong, central Seoul, Maxim Plant is a cultural space that offers specialty coffees that change with the season, along with beverages made using products from instant coffee brand Maxim. Since its opening in April 2018, approximately 1.42 million people have visited the store. Maxim Plant has released a coconut i

Aug. 22, 2025

Toss offers free overseas remittance for foreign residents

Toss, a South Korean fintech app operated by Viva Republica, said Friday it will waive overseas remittance fees for foreign customers residing in Korea until the end of the year. The fee exemptions apply to transfers to the four countries covered by Toss's foreign-customer remittance service: the US, China, Vietnam and Uzbekistan. Accordingly, approximately 1.53 million people, or 64 percent of registered long-term foreign residents, will now be able to transfer money to their home countries for

Aug. 22, 2025

McDonald’s, BTS reunite with new Happy Meal launch next month

McDonald’s is once again teaming up with global pop sensation BTS to roll out a new collaboration in September. According to McDonald’s on Wednesday, the “BTS Happy Meal” will debut on Sept. 3 in 66 countries, including South Korea, the United States, Germany, Brazil and Australia. The Happy Meal is McDonald’s children’s menu set, which includes a hamburger, fries, a drink and a toy. For this collaboration, the toy will be a miniature figurine from BTS’s TinyTan character line, modeled after the

Aug. 20, 2025

Coway offers up to 50% off in Ice Big Festa event

Korean home appliance maker Coway said Tuesday that it is holding a discount event called Ice Big Festa for customers who rent or purchase an ice-dispensing water purifier by Sept. 30. This promotion offers rental fee discounts and special prizes. The event covers all household ice-dispensing water purifiers, including the Icon Ice Water Purifier (Mini, Standard, Original), Ice Water Purifier RO, AIS 3.0 and AIS 3.0 Sparkling. When renting a new product, the rental fee is reduced by up to 50 per

Aug. 19, 2025

Burger chain Lotteria opens 1st US outlet

Lotteria, the burger chain operated by Lotte Group affiliate Lotte GRS Co., said Monday it opened its first outlet in the United States as part of its overseas expansion drive. The outlet began operations in Orange County, California, on Aug. 14 (local time), about two years after Lotte GRS established its US subsidiary, the company said in a press release. "We plan to go beyond Asian markets into the US to introduce Lotteria's taste and value to the American burger market," the company's Chief

Aug. 18, 2025

Foreign shoppers now make up over a quarter of Olive Young’s offline sales

A wave of beauty-shopping tourists is turning CJ Olive Young’s stores into must-visit stops in Korea, pushing overseas shoppers to account for more than a quarter of the retailer’s in-store sales. Between January and May alone, 26.4 percent of Olive Young’s in-store sales came from non-Korean customers, up from the single digits in 2023, the company said Thursday in its second-quarter earnings report. In the same five-month period, 5.96 million foreign visitors made purchases at Olive Young stor

Aug. 15, 2025

Nongshim's Melon Kick to hit North American shelves

Nongshim’s Melon Kick is set to hit the shelves in North America, beginning with 10,000 boxes — worth approximately $1 million — set for release in the United States and Canada. The Korean food and beverage firm said Wednesday that Melon Kick will be distributed throughout the North American market, and the company was actively pushing for entry into major retailers such as Walmart and e-commerce giant Amazon. To better reach consumers there, Melon Kick will feature English packaging and come in

Aug. 6, 2025

Gov't offers grocery discounts to fight inflation

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, together with the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp., has launched a nationwide discount program for agricultural and livestock products to stabilize supplies and ease grocery costs amid inflation concerns. With over 12,000 retailers participating, consumers can purchase locally produced agricultural and livestock products at discounts of up to 40 percent — combining a 20 percent government subsidy with an additional 10 to 20 percent disc

Aug. 5, 2025

Olive Young’s K-beauty booth attracts 36,000 visitors at KCON LA 2025

CJ Olive Young, Korea’s leading beauty retailer, said Tuesday that it had operated its largest-ever K-beauty booth at KCON LA 2025, the world’s biggest K-pop festival, from Friday to Sunday. Spanning 430 square meters, the Olive Young booth showcased 66 Korean beauty brands and 164 products, drawing an estimated 36,000 visitors out of the total 125,000 who visited KCON. The highlight of the booth was the “Skincare Routine Zone,” which introduced what it called the four essential steps of K-beaut

Aug. 5, 2025

Samsung to exclusively stream Jonas Brothers’ concert tour in 17 countries

Samsung Electronics announced Monday that it will exclusively stream the Jonas Brothers’ 20th anniversary tour, "Jonas 20: Greetings from Your Hometown," through its free streaming platform Samsung TV Plus. The broadcast will span 17 countries, including South Korea, the United States and France, strengthening Samsung’s growing presence in the global Free Ad-supported Streaming TV market. Kicking off with the group’s MetLife Stadium concert in New Jersey on Aug. 11, Samsung TV Plus will stream f

Aug. 4, 2025

9 out of 10 Koreans watch videos while eating alone, survey finds

A recent survey by Baedal Minjok (Baemin), South Korea’s leading food delivery platform, found Friday that 91 percent of people watch videos -- such as TV or streaming content -- while eating alone. The findings come from Baemin’s “My Solo Dining Skill” campaign, a celebration of surpassing 1 million users of the platform’s “han-geureut (one bowl)” category. The company launched the service in late April to cater to the growing number of single-person households, removing minimum order requireme

Aug. 1, 2025

[Photo News] Musinsa opens Gangnam flagship

South Korea’s largest online fashion platform Musinsa said Thursday it will open its Gangnam store, located in Gangnam-daero, on Friday, marking its fourth offline concept store and first in a year since Musinsa Seongsu DaelimChanggo. Spanning three floors and featuring around 130 brands and 6,000 products, the store will offer curated sections including unisex, women’s and footwear. (Musinsa)

July 31, 2025

Orion to recall Cham Carp Cakes due to potential mold contamination

Orion, a major South Korean confectionery company, said Thursday it will recall all of its Cham Carp Cakes, a popular fish-shaped pie, due to potential mold contamination. The company has notified the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety of the issue and requested that retailers halt sales of the product. All units produced before Wednesday are subject to the recall, Orion said, estimating that around 1.5 billion won ($1.1 million) worth of the product has already been distributed to the market. The

July 24, 2025

LG Uplus unveils new lineup of foreigner-specific mobile plans

LG Uplus has rolled out a set of limited-time promotional mobile plans designed exclusively for foreign residents, offering generous international calling, data, and roaming perks tailored to their everyday needs. The new lineup, unveiled on Wednesday, includes seven monthly plans ranging from 37,000 won to 85,000 won (approximately $27 to $62). All plans come with free international calling of up to 90 minutes per month, as well as enhanced roaming benefits when subscribers travel abroad. Custo

July 24, 2025

Would you wait hours to have watermelon sliced? In Korea, many do

At Hyundai department stores in Seoul, long lines are nothing new. Shoppers regularly queue for designer handbags or the latest dessert trends. But this summer, one of the longest lines is for the watermelon -- or more precisely, to have it cut. At seven Hyundai locations, including The Hyundai Seoul in Yeouido, customers wait for hours to have their fruit sliced and packed into containers, ready to be eaten or stored in the refrigerator. The service, called “Fresh Table,” was launched in 2021 a

July 24, 2025