The influence of "K," once represented by "K-pop" and "K-dramas," is spreading worldwide across various retail industries. In the past, localization was considered essential when entering overseas markets, but now Korea's unique methods and sensibilities are being accepted as a new standard. We highlight cases where Korean characteristics have become global competitive strengths and examine the direction "K" should take in the global market going forward. [Editor's note]
With K-beauty, K-fashion and K-food all achieving success recently in the global market, the government said it would support their growth into strategic export industries. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, last year's exports of the five promising consumer goods categories (agricultural and marine products, cosmetics, fashion apparel, household goods and pharmaceuticals) reached $46.4 billion (about 67 trillion won), up 8.5% from the previous year.
Experts said that in the rapidly changing global market, continued crisis response and content development are crucial for K-trends to maintain their growth, alongside government support.
◇ "K-fashion and beauty need stronger government support"
From January to November this year, Korea's cumulative cosmetics exports totaled $10.361 billion (about 14.95 trillion won), surpassing $10 billion for the first time. They have emerged as a new growth engine for the country, even entering Korea's top 10 export items. But there are concerns that the current domestic legal framework is heavily regulatory in nature and government support is lacking.
Kim Ju-deok, a professor in the Department of Beauty Industry at Sungshin Women's University, said on the 12th, "Recently, mid-sized and small corporations, as well as indie brands in the cosmetics industry, have achieved significant results in exports, but there are concerns about whether any brands will have staying power," adding, "Compared to corporations in other industries with similar sales, the domestic cosmetics industry spends relatively little on research and development (R&D). Government support is needed for this."
Kim added, "I understand that cosmetics are closely related to public safety and health, but regulations are stricter here than in other countries," and said, "Cosmetics are an industry where product image is important, and if regulations on this are not eased, it will be difficult to sustain popularity in the global market."
Kim said, "So far, domestic cosmetics have grown largely through corporations' own efforts, with insufficient government help," adding, "As the recent growth has drawn attention and the government has released plans to support the sector, if that support materializes, K-beauty has even greater potential."
◇ "It's time to shift K-food to an aggressive trade strategy"
According to the Korea Customs Service, K-food exports hit a record high last year, underscoring its presence in the global market. From January to November last year, K-food exports totaled $10.375 billion, up 7.0% from the same period a year earlier. If December results are included, the annual figure is expected to surpass the previous record high of $10.663 billion.
However, some point out that the sector relies heavily on one-off content-related products such as K-pop Demon Hunters and is skewed toward processed foods like instant noodles. They also note that many items face export barriers due to food-related regulations.
Moon Jeong-hoon, a professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology at Seoul National University, said, "When people think of K-food, they think of snacks, beverages and ready-to-eat meals, but if a ready-to-eat meal contains even 1 gram of meat, exports to major markets such as North America, Europe, China and Japan are impossible. As a representative example, in the European Union (EU), only heat-treated poultry is allowed to be exported, while beef and pork are not," adding, "Korea's representative food culture is, in fact, soup-based 'tang' dishes. Because broth stocks are made from meat, we can't export them." Currently, domestic corporations that have entered overseas markets are choosing approaches such as building local plants to sell products that contain meat.
Moon suggested the government should resolve this diplomatically. He said, "Korea's basic import-export strategy for agricultural and marine food products has long been a 'defense strategy' of not accepting other countries' foods to protect our own," adding, "This strategy is holding back K-food just as it is about to take off. It's time to shift to an offense-focused trade strategy." He added, "K-food's popularity will become sustainable only if it grows together with not just food manufacturers but also the livestock industry."
He added, "If regulations can be resolved through diplomacy with trading partners so that we can export soup culture and the like, K-food has room to grow further in the global market," and said, "As K-food has gained fame recently, cases are increasing in which local corporations produce and sell items that are difficult for us to export. We can't cede markets we could preempt to local corporations."
◇ "K-trend must continue its popularity with quality content and active promotion"
Experts also agreed that because K-trends arose from the success of content such as dramas and K-pop, high-quality content must continue to be discovered.
Jeon Mi-young, a research fellow at Trend Korea Company, said, "When something suddenly becomes very popular, a time comes when people get used to it and it loses freshness. I think domestic corporations must keep responding to that," adding, "Domestic corporations are good at crisis response and planning. By throwing out themes and proposing new keywords, they preempt issues before people feel staleness or boredom and quickly manage that cycle well."
She added, "Since the K-brand boom started in food and beauty, it is highly likely to expand into adjacent similar sectors. It could spread into fashion," and said, "Also, now is the time when 'K' doesn't have to be the main focus. Rather, we should form a market where brands and trends survive by competing on performance and ingredients alone to the point where it's hard to tell whether it's a K product or a local product."
Seo Yong-gu, a professor in the School of Business at Sookmyung Women's University, said, "As content such as Korean dramas that have continued since 'Winter Sonata' and K-pop, well known through BTS, have succeeded, overseas interest in domestic products has grown," adding, "In particular, as the global consumption trend has shifted toward buying products used by celebrities and influencers, with the influence of famous people growing, the success of high-quality content has become more important."
He added, "In particular, today's global consumer market is difficult for corporations to control perfectly, and artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms exert significant influence. To be chosen by the algorithm, brand authenticity and an emotional narrative, a story, are essential."
Lee Eun-hee, a professor in the Department of Consumer Science at Inha University, said, "An online-offline linkage strategy is necessary. Online promotion through social media (SNS) should be combined with offline promotion that raises the profile of K-culture at international events," adding, "While corporations are actively stepping up, government ministries need to take the lead in planning online and offline promotions."
She added, "In particular, it is necessary to leverage K-pop idols and the like in ways tailored to overseas consumers' needs and to actively use popup-style plans that consumers can experience firsthand," and said, "The key is to build sustained points of contact with consumers in the global market."