SEOUL, March 24 (Korea Bizwire) – A growing trend among South Korean consumers of buying semi-luxury goods is sweeping the consumer market amid the country’s prolonged economic downturn. Despite the sluggish economy, Koreans – especially those in their 20s and 30s – are willing to spend 50,000 won ($45) for an afternoon tea at a five-star [...]
CHEONGJU, South Korea, March 14 (Korea Bizwire) – Although regional educational offices leave rules regarding use of makeup at the discretion of individual elementary, middle and high schools, students are still restricted in terms of their makeup choices at many Korean schools. “Our school guidelines don’t specify the individual cosmetics products allowed or banned,” said [...]
SEOUL, March 9 (Korea Bizwire) – You might be able to change the look of your pelvis soon, thanks to South Korean surgeons who have come up with a pelvis cosmetic surgery procedure. Facelifts and breast implants are common plastic surgical procedures. Buttocks augmentation is no longer something out of the ordinary. However, how your pelvis [...]
SEOUL, March 2 (Korea Bizwire) – Louis Vuitton, along with Chanel and Hermès, is considered in South Korea as one of the big three high-end designer brands that are typically supposed to appeal to the top one-percent. And while Chanel and Hermès continue to symbolize wealth and affluence, Louis Vuitton has recently been struggling to [...]
SEOUL, March 2 (Korea Bizwire) – Re-selling limited edition products is good business for opportunists. The latest hype in Korea has been over the Adidas Yeezy Boost 350 v2 “Zebra,” co-designed by American rapper and producer Kanye West. This extremely limited edition pair of shoes sold for a retail price of 289,000 won ($255.75), but [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 22 (Korea Bizwire) – Exports of South Korea-made cosmetics soared more than 10-fold over the past seven years, government data showed Wednesday, as the Korean Wave, or Hallyu, fueled robust demand from China and other Asian countries. Outbound shipments of makeup products reached US$4.18 billion in 2016, compared to $451.15 million tallied in [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 21 (Korea Bizwire) – A Seoul appeals court on Tuesday ruled in favor of South Korean fashion brand PLAYNOMORE in a copyright lawsuit filed by Hermès, upsetting a previous ruling in favor of the French luxury brand. The dispute goes back to November 2015 when Hermès filed a lawsuit against the Korean company, [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 21 (Korea Bizwire) – Hermes handbags, despite their international reputation as an elegant luxury brand, are adding bitterness to their cachet in South Korea as they have been used as a “popular” item for bribes in high-profile political scandals. Industry sources have widely suspected that either a Birkin bag or Kelly bag, two [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 17 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s fashion market is expected to grow 3.3 percent in 2017 from a year earlier, with major apparel companies ramping up efforts to expand their footing here and abroad amid dim prospects, industry data showed Friday. The size of the domestic fashion market is predicted to reach 39.3 [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 17 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea has one of the world’s highest plastic surgery rates. In 2015, over 1.1 million individuals went under the knife, and roughly one in five women aged between 19 and 50 claimed to have had at least one cosmetic procedure in their life. Surprisingly, however, nine out of [...]