Meet the woman on a mission to challenge stereotypes in beauty industry

Japanese fashion retailer Uniqlo will close its outlet in Seoul's popular shopping district next month, after a sharp fall in sales stemming from the new coronavirus outbreak and a trade dispute between Seoul and Tokyo. Uniqlo said on its website recently in Korean that its global flagship store in Myeongdong, central Seoul, will stop operating Jan. 31. The outlet is the second biggest in the world after one in New York.    The closure came as online shopping has gained tra

Popeyes, a US-based fried chicken franchise, said Friday that it would cease to operate in South Korea, 26 years after it opened its first outlet in 1994. The Korean operator, TS Food & System, said its franchise contract with the US headquarters is set to end at the end of this year. Popeyes, which at one time owned over 200 outlets here, has been struggling against poor sales. With the COVID-19 pandemic the business faced even more difficulties, and the number of stores was reduced t

South Korea’s leading ginseng manufacturer, Korea Ginseng, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the International Vaccine Institute to develop an adjuvant -- an agent that can improve the performance of a vaccine. The two will work together to develop an adjuvant using Korea Ginseng’s popular red ginseng brand CheongKwanJang, the company said Friday. Korea Ginseng will provide 12 types of ginsenosides while the institute, a nonprofit organization that is working with vacci

Starbucks Korea opened a new store on Thursday with a commitment to prioritize disabled workers, in a first in the country. The new location at the Seoul National University Dental Hospital will run with a staff of 12, six of whom are employees with disabilities The coffeehouse giant also said sign language training and disability awareness education was given to staff as part efforts to improve the perception of those with disabilities. Launching on the International Day of People with Disa

Homeplus said Wednesday the overall sales of IT home appliances jumped 46 percent from March to November, compared to the same time last year, with increased remote working and homeschooling amid the pandemic. Sales of tablet PCs in the period saw an explosive growth of 426 percent, and laptops and printers also witnessed a sales increase of 25 percent respectively, the retailer said. Large home appliances, such as televisions and refrigerators, were also popular this year, with the sales ri

Nearly two-thirds of South Koreans are hoping to travel to another country next year, according to a new survey by e-commerce platform TMon Inc. Among those 1,800 surveyed over a five-day period last month, 64 percent said they wanted to travel abroad in 2021, of which 57 percent said they will do so after getting vaccinated against COVID-19. Over half of respondents said they wanted to go on holiday with family and spend at least five days traveling. The findings come as reports of a breakth

A day after receiving flak on social media, Lotte Mart issued an apology Monday over a recent incident where one of its employees refused entry to a dog being trained to assist a person with a disability. On Sunday, a social media user shared pictures of a dog sitting inside Lotte Mart’s Jamsil branch in Seoul and said an employee had refused to allow the dog and trainer into the store. “The employee raised their voice, blaming the woman for bringing a dog in when she is not eve

Pulmuone, a South Korean food company, said Monday its tofu products achieved a global standard for carbon footprints by Carbon Trust. According to Pulmuone, 10 of its tofu products attained Carbon Trust Standard for Carbon by Carbon Trust, a UK-based organization for climate impact reduction. “We are delighted to congratulate Pulmuone for being the first Korean food company to have its product carbon footprint certified by the Carbon Trust,” Morgan Jones, associate director of C

With the end-of-year shopping season in full swing, South Korea’s major online shopping platforms including Coupang, WeMakePrice and Olive Young have announced big discounts and special deals. Coupang, the largest e-commerce platform in the country, is holding a Christmas sale until Boxing Day offering a range of Christmas-related items at a special price including home decor products and gifts. Discounts of up to 50 percent are being offered for some of the most popular kids’ toys

PRK managing director on introducing canned espresso martini in Korea via coffeehouse chain

South Korean general foods company Daesang said Thursday that it is branching out into the Middle Eastern market, which serves a population of about 4 billion, with popular food products such as halal-certified kimchi and tofu. Daesang said it has teamed up with 21 stores in Qatar, including Carrefour, Lulu and Spar. In Iraq its products are being distributed through Carrefour and Majidi Mall, with plans underway to expand its presence in the region to countries including Saudi Arabia and Israe

South Korean cosmetics giant Amorepacific published findings from a recent study on Wednesday showing that mask wearing can cause dry skin and redness. The researchers discovered that wearing a mask for between one and six hours can also bring significant change to skin temperature and sebum after conducting an experiment with 21 men and women. The perioral area – the area surrounding the mouth including both lips and the upper lip area under the nose – could be most affected afte

Home interior design platform Ohouse has raised 77 billion won ($70 million) in a new round of Series C funding from investors including technology investment firm Bond, the app’s operator, Bucketplace, said Monday. IMM Investment, Mirae Asset Venture Investment, Mirae Asset Capital and Naver Corporation were among the existing investors that participated in this round, the company added. This raises the company’s total funding to 88 billion won ($80 million). Launched in 2014, th

Retail sales in South Korea increased 8.4 percent in October from a year earlier on the back of the pandemic and consumption-boosting events, data showed Monday. The combined sales of 26 major offline and online retailers reached 12.01 trillion won ($10.7 billion) last month, up from 11.08 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Online platforms led the overall growth, with their revenue advancing a whopping 17.2 percent over t