"Ordered Because the Country Was Unstable" Gold Bars Selling Like Hotcakes, Busy Euljiro Safe Shop Merchants [Report]

People Seeking Safes Both Online and Offline
Gold Price Hits All-Time High on the 14th of Last Month
Tariff Wars and Interest Rate Cuts Bring Positive Outlook for the Safe Industry

Euljiro in Jung-gu, Seoul, was originally famous for its safes. Merchants who made large sums of money in industries such as textiles, furniture, and printing flocked to safes, leading to the emergence of many safe companies. Merchants who had been in Euljiro for a long time unanimously said that the 10 or so safe companies in the area handled all the safes in the country. Now, that is a thing of the past. Since the 2000s, only two or three companies remain, and safe companies have disappeared from Euljiro.

On the 5th, safes sold through an online platform were being loaded onto a truck in front of Beomil Safe's showroom, a safe manufacturing company located in Euljiro, Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Gong Byung-seon

Recently, safe companies in Euljiro have become busy again. On the 5th, in front of Beomil Safe’s sales office near Euljiro 4-ga Station, three trucks loaded with boxes were waiting for more goods. Inside the boxes were safes sold through online platforms such as Coupang. Each truck can carry 24 safes. Employees were packing safes to be loaded onto a fourth truck. They had sold nearly 100 safes over a few days. A Beomil Safe official said, "We definitely feel that safe sales have increased," adding, "Purchasing home safes through online platforms like Coupang is the recent trend."

Lee Young-gyu (57, male), who has operated a safe sales business in Euljiro with his father for 40 years, also explained that the number of people looking for safes has definitely increased recently. Lee’s main customers, who only buy offline, are elderly people who find online shopping difficult. Safes are popular even among the elderly, who will buy secondhand ones if new products are unavailable. Lee said, "Older customers who insist on seeing the product in person come to our store," explaining, "Many say they came to look at safes because of unstable domestic and international political situations, such as the declaration of martial law."

On the 18th, as gold prices soar and a gold bar shortage occurs, an employee is showing a gold bar sample to a customer visiting the Jongno main branch of the Korea Gold Exchange in Jongno-gu, Seoul. 2025.2.18. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

The revival of the safe industry is thanks to the price of gold. According to the Korea Exchange, on the 14th of last month, the price of gold spot per gram on the KRX gold market reached 168,500 won during trading hours, setting a new record high. This is nearly double the price of 86,030 won a year ago. Gold is especially a popular investment in Korea. On the day the record was set, the discrepancy rate between domestic and international gold prices reached a high of 24% during trading hours. This means that the so-called "Kimchi Premium," seen in the cryptocurrency market, also applies to gold.

In fact, gold and safes are selling well together. KT Alpha Shopping conducted 24K pure gold jewelry sales broadcasts on the 11th and 15th of last month, recording order amounts of 570 million won and 760 million won, respectively. About 4,000 sets were sold during the total two hours of broadcasting. Following the pure gold sales broadcast on the morning of the 15th, they sold Sunil Safe products in the afternoon, achieving a sales rate of 135%. KT Alpha Shopping also specially scheduled a gold and safe sales broadcast on the 21st of last month.

President Donald Trump signed a proclamation imposing a 25% tariff without exceptions on steel and aluminum products imported into the United States, and announced that tariffs on automobiles and semiconductors are also under consideration. On February 13, 2025, export vehicles were waiting to be loaded at Pyeongtaek Port in Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

This phenomenon of seeking safes is not new. When interest rates fall and economic uncertainty overlaps, people look for safes. This is interpreted as a preference to directly store physical assets such as gold and cash rather than trusting national systems like banks. During the economic turmoil caused by the spread of COVID-19, people also sought safes. According to data analyzed by former Democratic Party lawmaker Yang Kyung-sook from the Bank of Korea, National Tax Service, and Statistics Korea, the taxable sales standard for the safe manufacturing industry in 2020 was 256.621 billion won, an increase of 101.56% compared to the previous year (127.312 billion won).

The safe industry expects the market to remain prosperous for the time being due to ongoing global economic uncertainties. U.S. President Donald Trump plans to stimulate corporate production and investment through interest rate cuts while shaking the global trade market with tariff wars. In a joint session speech at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on the 4th (local time), President Trump said, "We will defeat inflation and lower mortgage rates to put more money in the pockets of American families," adding, "(U.S. Treasury yields) are beautifully falling." He also warned of tariff increases on allied countries, saying, "Countless countries impose much higher tariffs on us. It is very unfair."