"Even with a buy one, get one free (1+1) discount, sanitary pads are still expensive. The alternative is diapers."
A YouTuber said this in a video filmed at a big-box store. The price of the "overnight sanitary pad" shown in the video for a pack of 26 was 16,900 won. Even with a 1+1 discount, the price per pad is 325 won.
By contrast, the baby diapers the YouTuber suggested as an alternative were about 120 won each. Comments included, "Sanitary pads are a necessity, but they are too expensive in Korea," and "Because it's a baby product, the ingredients might actually be gentler."
Recently, among women in their 20s and 30s, a consumption pattern has emerged of using diapers instead of sanitary pads. The burden of sanitary pad prices has grown.
On the 26th, a search on YouTube for "sanitary pad diaper" returns dozens of related videos. Most either recommend wearing diapers instead of sanitary pads or share actual user reviews.
Typically, people use regular medium- to large-size sanitary pads, but when the flow is heavy or during sleep, they wear diapers instead of panty-style sanitary pads or "wearable overnight" products.
The response is hot. A video recommending wearing diapers posted in Nov. last year reached 2.17 million views in about a year, and another review video posted in Jan. this year surpassed 1.64 million views.
This trend is also evident in the retail market. On the Coupang sales page for a diaper product that spread by word of mouth as a substitute for sanitary pads, there are more than 1,000 reviews saying it was used for sanitary pad purposes. Many of the most upvoted reviews also say they used it as a sanitary pad.
On some open markets, the sales pages for these diaper products also suggest feminine cleansers as recommended items.
The biggest reason for choosing diapers over sanitary pads is price. A diaper product well known as a substitute for sanitary pads is sold for 27,150 won for 192 pieces on online malls. That is about 141 won each. On the same mall, a similarly sized "wearable overnight" sanitary pad is 18,110 won for 24 pieces, or about 755 won each. The price gap is about fivefold.
The issue of domestic sanitary pad prices has been pointed out repeatedly. President Lee Jae-myung also said during a Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) briefing on the 19th, "Sanitary pads in Korea are extremely expensive," and instructed, "Please investigate why." In response, on the 24th the Fair Trade Commission conducted on-site inspections at the headquarters of three sanitary pad manufacturers: Yuhan-Kimberly, LG Unicharm, and KleanNara.
According to the Women's Environmental Network's "2023 disposable sanitary pad price and advertising monitoring" report, the average price per sanitary pad in Korea was 39.55% higher than overseas.
Given that women use about 20 to 30 pads every month for nearly 40 years, the cumulative burden is significant. An office worker, a person surnamed Kim (32), said, "If I buy panty-style sanitary pads at a convenience store in a pinch, it's 10,000 won for four, or 2,500 won each," and added, "Because of the cost, I only used them at night while sleeping, but after switching to diapers, I've been able to use them more freely."
Perceptions about safety also played a role. Because sanitary pads are hygiene products that come into direct contact with the skin, there is strong interest in ingredients. Consumer distrust continued after the 2017 controversy over harmful substances in sanitary pads, and for tampons or menstrual cups, the fact that they can rarely cause toxic shock syndrome also acts as a burden.
On the other hand, there is a perception that diapers, fundamentally baby products, would have stricter safety standards. A person surnamed Kwon (33) said, "Because they have long been used for babies, there are aspects that are less concerning than store-bought sanitary pads."
Functionality is also cited. Some say diapers, designed to absorb urine and feces, feel better in terms of absorption and odor blocking. A person identified as A (32), who requested anonymity, said, "With regular sanitary pads, leaks are common when lying down at night, so I sometimes layered two, but with diapers, absorption holds all night with just one."
However, the industry points to limitations stemming from differences in use. A Yuhan-Kimberly official said, "Sanitary pads, which handle menstrual blood, and diapers, which handle urine and feces, differ in product properties, structure, and management standards," and added, "There are limits to how much straight-type diapers can provide the same comfort or mobility as sanitary pads."