[Photo News] Hanwha heir celebrates 1st Five Guys store opening

Kim Dong-sun, head of strategic management at Hanwha Galleria, speaks during a press conference held at the first Five Guys restaurant to open in South Korea in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul, Thursday. With the first store becoming fully operational from Monday, operator FG Korea said it aims to open at least 14 more Five Guys locations by 2028. (Yonhap)

June 22, 2023

Bodyfriend launches massage chair with body composition analyzer

South Korea’s leading massage chair maker Bodyfriend on Thursday launched a new massage chair, called Davinci, which analyzes users’ body composition and offers more customized massage options. “It has been widely accepted that massage chairs are mostly used by older generations. But the newly launched massage chair featuring bioelectrical impedance analysis is expected to appeal to younger generations,” Bodyfriend Chief Marketing Officer Song Seung-ho said during the lau

June 22, 2023

Convenience store CU makes foray into Kazakhstan

BGF Retail, the operator of South Korean convenience store chain CU, announced Tuesday that the company will expand its convenience store business into Kazakhstan. The firm plans to open the first CU store in Kazakhstan during the first half of next year and establish around 500 branches in the country in the next five years. When opened, Kazakhstan will become the first Central Asian country to have CU stores. BGF Retail says it would also be the first foreign convenience stores in Kazakhstan.

June 20, 2023

Coupang, Naver dominate Korea's e-commerce market

South Korea's no. 1 e-commerce operator, Coupang, and its local archrival, Naver Shopping, are dominating the South Korean e-commerce industry, taking up some 65 percent of the local market, according to a survey Tuesday. According to the consumer data analysis platform Opensurvey's research on 2,500 respondents aged between 20 to 59, Coupang was the most frequently used e-commerce service for Koreans, making up for 37.7 percent of responses. Naver Shopping came in second, with 27.2 pe

June 20, 2023

Ramen firms under pressure to lower prices

South Koreans ramen makers said Monday that it is currently difficult to adjust the prices of their ramen products, in response to the South Korean government's recent call for them to cut prices amid the fall in raw material costs. "Milling companies were supplied with months' worth of raw materials when their costs were high. Even if the prices of wheat and other major materials needed for making ramen have fallen recently, it is difficult to adjust the price of ramen immediatel

June 19, 2023

Fukushima water fears stoke soaring salt demand

Online transactions of salt surged by more than 800 percent in a week as Korean consumers feared the release of wastewater from the defunct Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea could affect food safety, a recent analysis by an online tracking firm showed. The amount of online transactions of salt products increased by 817 percent between June 7-13, compared to the same period a week earlier, according to online price comparison service provider Danawa. Sales of salt at offline stores als

June 18, 2023

[Photo News] Handshake for expo

Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin (right) shakes hands with Egypt's Ambassador to South Korea Khaled Abdelrahman Hassan Abdelrahman during an event promoting Busan’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo held at the Signiel Busan in the port city on Monday. During the event organized by Asia Society Korea, a private diplomatic organization established by the Lotte chief to network with embassies in Korea, Shin inspected Busan North Port, the potential expo site together with ambassadors to

June 13, 2023

1st Five Guys store to open in Gangnam on June 26

Popular US burger chain Five Guys will be operating its South Korean business starting on June 26, its Korean retailer Hanwha Galleria announced Monday. FG Korea, a subsidiary under Hanwha Galleria in charge of importing the US burger chain into the country, said it will be opening the chain's first franchise store in the area between Gangnam and Nonhyeon Stations in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul. According to FG Korea, the outlet, standing on 618 square meters of land, will consist of 150 sea

June 12, 2023

[Photo News] 'Milkflation' on the way

A shopper browses in the milk section at a supermarket in Yangjae, southern Seoul, on Sunday. Dairy farmers and retailers have started talks to adjust the price of raw milk. Discussions are set to increase the base price from the current 69 won ($0.05) to 104 won per liter. According to the Korea Diary Committee, more than 300 dairy farmers have shut down their businesses in the past two years following the sharp decline in net income amid soaring raw materials costs.

June 11, 2023

[Contribution] Not just K-crops on Korean dinner tables

By Stefan Schmitz Executive director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust Just as the colorful mosaic of banchan dishes enhances a dinner table, Korean – and global – food security is enhanced by crop diversity. Dishes such as kimchi, bibimbap and japchae all contain crops that originated in far-away countries and speak to how we are all interconnected in what we eat. In an interconnected world facing complex challenges, few things are certain. But we must all eat – and I thi

June 11, 2023

Oriental Brewery beers win 7 Superior Taste Awards in Belgium

South Korea’s top brewer, Oriental Brewery, announced Friday that it has proven its global quality standards by winning the "Superior Taste Award" in seven categories organized by the International Taste Institute this year. OB Beer's seven brands -- Cass Fresh, Hite, Cass Light, Cass 0.0, Cass White, OB Lager, and OMG -- received a total of 13 stars, with each brand being honored with an award. Cass Fresh and Cass Light have won the award for four consecutive years, while C

June 9, 2023

Shinsegae seeks to take on Coupang with new membership

Shinsegae Group’s new paid membership program, called Shinsegae Universe, was unveiled Thursday in an apparent move to lock in customer loyalty across all its shopping platforms and renew its competition with Coupang, the nation’s No. 1 e-commerce operator. "Shinsegae Group evolved into a multi-platform (retail system) that can meet the detailed shopping demands for diverse customers across online and offline (markets)," said Kang Heui-seok, CEO of E-mart, Shinsegae Group&#

June 8, 2023

[Contribution] Uniting for safer food: enhancing global cooperation in food safety systems

By Tom Heilandt Codex Alimentarius Commission Secretary The demise of Alexander the Great, valiant conqueror of Persia and Egypt and monarch of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon, is not one that history books typically associate with a foodborne illness. However, a recent review suggests that it was Salmonella typhimurium enteritis that ultimately brought him down. Similarly, there is one theory that the musical genius, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, is thought to have succumbed to trichinosis, w

June 6, 2023

[Graphic News] Fast food: Runaway prices

Prices for hamburgers rose 10.3 percent in March and 17.1 percent in April, according to Statistics Korea. The increase marked the highest growth in 19 years. Such inflation in hamburgers came after major franchise companies raised their prices 4 to 5 percent in February and August of last year, and again in February this year. Pizza prices also set a record high in nearly 15 years with a near-12 percent increase in April. Chicken prices increased by 6.8 percent in the given period, which is low

June 2, 2023

[From the Scene] In-N-Out pop-up returns after 4 years

Under the searing sunlight, hundreds of customers lined up outside an In-N-Out pop-up store that exclusively opened up for just four hours in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul, Wednesday. "People have been lining up since 1 a.m.," said a part-time worker at the In-N-Out pop-up store. "We sold out even before we opened -- all the 500 wristbands that are needed for an entry into the restaurant have been given out to the people standing in lines, before 11 a.m.," he added. In-N-Out, of

May 31, 2023

[Photo News] Nike's playground for all

Nike Korea said Tuesday it created a public sports space, called "Playground for All," jointly with Seoul Lifelong Education Institute and ChildFund Korea in Geumcheon-gu, southwestern Seoul, as part of its initiative to achieve carbon neutrality and practice social responsibility. Built on 1,613 square meters of land, the sports space consists of a running track, a basketball court, a futsal field and a play zone, with the floors and lockers made from recycled Nike sneakers and clot

May 30, 2023

Retail sales up 4 % in April on outdoor activities, shopping events

Retail sales in South Korea rose 4 percent on-year in April on the back of people's growing outdoor activities and various promotional events by major discount stores, the industry ministry said Tuesday. The combined sales of 25 major offline and online retailers came to 14.08 trillion won ($10.67 billion) last month, compared with 13.54 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The on-year increase came as more people turned

May 30, 2023

[Hello Hangeul] Hangeul adds premium feel to Korean brands

On the heels of the ever-booming K-wave, Hangeul, the Korean alphabet, is being increasingly employed by both domestic and overseas companies as a unique marketing strategy to promote corporate values and raise brand awareness. Korean food companies seeking to foray into overseas markets are making full use of Hangeul to give themselves credibility and capitalize on the special currency the Korean alphabet holds in the global market. CJ CheilJedang, a Korean food giant whose global food sales ac

May 29, 2023

Korean food makers win legal fights against Chinese counterfeiters

Korean food makers have won in legal fights against Chinese counterfeiters in a series of lawsuits filed in China, according to the Korea Food Industry Association on Thursday. Of the total seven cases raised, the Chinese court recently ruled in favor of Korean firms in five cases at the first trial stage. Following the rulings, the Chinese companies in question are now required to pay compensation worth 250,000 yuan ($35,353) to CJ CheilJedang, 350,000 yuan to Samyang Food, and 200,000 yuan to

May 25, 2023

EU eases export rules on Korean ramen

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said Wednesday the European Union has decided to ease import regulations for Korean ramen products, 18 months after a mishap with a carcinogen in ramen imports sent to Europe. According to the ministry, the EU will be easing the inspection of ethylene oxide in imported Korean ramen products starting in July. EO, which is majorly used as a fumigant and sterilizing agent, is classified by the World Health Organization as a potential carcinogen. The EU strengt

May 24, 2023