The South Korean government has begun imposing zero tariffs on 50,000 tons of imported pork from Thursday, in a move to stabilize the skyrocketing price of pork here. It is the first time in 11 years for the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to introduce a tariff quota on pork. The ministry allows the import of a certain quantity of a commodity duty-free or at a lower-duty rate. W...

South Korean health and beauty retailer CJ Olive Young said Thursday its sales of men’s cosmetic products in the first half of this year increased 24 percent compared to the same period last year. The retailer saw a 130 percent increase in the basic skin care category, which includes toners and lotions. In the cosmetics category, foundations and color lip balms were the most-sold items, accordin...

South Korea’s duty-free shops are launching cross-border sales services starting Friday with high hopes to secure consumers overseas, as they are losing price advantage to local clients due to high won-dollar exchange rates. Lotte Duty Free opened the overseas shipping service on Wednesday, which sells around 220 kinds of products including cosmetics, fashion items and food products. Consumers i...

Italian luxury fashion brand Gucci on Wednesday launched its new “Gucci Pet Collection,” catering to canines and felines that enjoy extravagant lifestyles. The product line is part of a larger collection titled “Gucci Lifestyle,” which was launched in September 2021. The pet attire and accessories are all made from recycled cotton and polyester, and Gucci’s own eco-friendly fabric called Demetra...

Retail sales in South Korea rose 10.1 percent on-year in May on the back of growing demand for fashion-related items and other services amid the government's relaxation of COVID-19 curbs and the growth in people's outdoor activities, the industry ministry said Tuesday. The combined sales of 25 major offline and online retailers reached 14.45 trillion won ($11.24 billion) last month, up from 13.1...

South Korean food giant Pulmuone said Monday it has sponsored a documentary production with the Culinary Institute of America, one of the world’s most prestigious culinary schools, to promote Korean food to a global audience. In partnership with Pulmuone, the CIA plans to document Korea’s plant-based recipes and food culture. The documentary will be used for educational purposes for chefs, CIA s...

The IB Korea, a beer and liquor importer, recently participated in the Air House Festival, a music fair held in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, for three days starting June 10. At the event, the IB Korea met with young customers in their 20s, introducing its newly launched cocktail products, Uptown Margarita and Uptown Pina Colada. The two new products are brands from Texas-based distillery and win...

The trend of having healthy home-cooked meals has driven household goods companies to expand their business into the small home appliances sector. LocknLock, the global food container maker, has introduced Steam Fryer S2, which offers five cooking options -- steam oven, air fryer, grill, toaster and steamer. In particular, its super steam mode cooks food at 130 degrees Celcius and forces superh...

With fast-growing interest in high quality skin and hair care products in South Korea, the dermocosmetics market -- cosmetics that are just as effective as dermatological care -- has expanded in recent years to surpass the 4 trillion won ($3.1 billion) mark, a report showed Thursday. According to Samjong KPMG, a Seoul-based consulting firm, the country’s dermocosmetics market size has increased ...

Surging lunch prices drive some workers back in the office to convenience stores

Aesthetics of industrial cafes raise eyebrows, attract social media attention

W Concept, a South Korean online fashion platform under retail giant Shinsegae, said Thursday that it has started its first global campaign to support the overseas business of the country’s fashion brands. From Friday to June 24, the company will release a series of fashion photo shoots featuring Leandra Medine, a global fashion influencer, wearing items from Korean fashion brand Eenk. The item...

Amid price hikes and rising food bills, retailers in South Korea have come up with a new marketing strategy to keep customers satisfied. Convenience store chain CU has launched packages of vegetables, meat and fruit that are smaller and less expensive than the ones they usually sell. The store chain also offers packaged Korean pork belly, jowl meat, false lean, and flat iron steak in 200-gram pa...

US fast-food giant the latest to join sales rush of burger chains here

Budding cosmetics brand Barenbliss is garnering success in the Southeast Asian market, seeing rapid growth in online sales and receiving rave reviews from local media less than a year into its debut. In an interview with The Korea Herald, Barenbliss co-founder Jina Kim attributed her brand’s success to its “unique philosophy and insightful observations.” “Every product was produced on the basis...