Red Container, South Korea’s largest adult product retailer (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 14 (Korea Bizwire) – A new television drama about female door-to-door sex toy sellers in 1992 rural South Korea is challenging long-held taboos and driving a surge in sales of intimate products, particularly among women.
The JTBC drama series “A Virtuous Business” follows four women who venture into selling adult products in a small village, tackling themes of female sexuality and social prejudice head-on.
The show, which has reached ratings of 7%, employs creative techniques like strategic audio bleeping and metaphorical fireworks sequences to address sensitive content while maintaining a light-hearted tone.
“I became curious about what the sensation was really like after watching the main character compare it to fireworks,” said Kang, 35, a Seoul resident who recently purchased her first vibrator after watching the show.
“I haven’t tried it yet, but the scene made me wonder.”
The JTBC drama series “A Virtuous Business” (Image courtesy of JTBC)
The cultural impact is reflected in sales figures. Green Shelf, the official distributor of the female pleasure brand Womanizer in South Korea, reported a 10-20% increase in sales during the four weeks following the drama’s premiere compared to average monthly figures, and a more than 20% rise year-over-year.
“This reflects a shifting perception of female pleasure products, driven by positive cultural content,” a Green Shelf representative said, noting that many customers now view such devices as part of self-care and wellness rather than mere adult products.
The transformation in attitudes marks a dramatic departure from the 1980s and 90s, when adult products were sold discreetly from unmarked vans along quiet highways.
Today, sex shops operate openly in Seoul’s trendy neighborhoods like Hongdae, Itaewon, and Gangnam, with products also available in mainstream cosmetic stores and online retailers.
Kim Jung-eun, marketing director at Red Container, South Korea’s largest adult product retailer, noted a surprising trend: “Women actually make up the majority of our in-store customers. They prefer to shop in person to compare products and find what works best for them. If anything, male customers seem more hesitant to visit the stores.”
The show’s impact extends beyond consumer behavior. A 54-year-old viewer, identified only as Kim, who watched the series with her daughter, observed the generational shift: “My daughter and her friends openly share their experiences with these products, even exchanging them if the size isn’t right. It’s a different world now.”
Green Shelf, the official distributor of the female pleasure brand Womanizer in South Korea, reported a 10-20% increase in sales during the four weeks following the drama’s premiere compared to average monthly figures. (Photo: a screenshot from Green Shelf website)
Yoon Seok-jin, a drama critic at Chungnam National University, noted the groundbreaking nature of the series: “This is essentially the first Korean drama to address sexuality so directly. The audience’s exposure to diverse content through streaming services has paved the way for such programming.”
The show’s success suggests a broader cultural transformation in South Korea, where discussions about female sexuality are increasingly moving from the shadows into the mainstream.
As one 36-year-old woman who gives intimate products as birthday gifts to friends noted, “Women used to be very secretive about sexual pleasure, but that’s no longer the case. Everyone’s surprisingly receptive – it shows how much society has changed.”
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
