"Came to Buy Up All the Mask Packs": Olive Young Bustling with Foreign Tourists... Now a Must-Visit on Korea Trips [Report]

Visiting Olive Young Stores in Seomyeon and Haeundae, Busan
Foreign Tourists from Around the World, Including China and Japan, Flock to the Stores... Live Streaming Inside the Stores
Foreign Sales at Busan Stores from January to August This Year

"Before coming to Korea, I saw various types of sheet masks on Instagram. I'm planning to buy each type, and whichever one suits me best, I'll purchase in bulk before returning home."

On the afternoon of the 24th at the Olive Young Haeundae LCT Branch in Haeundae District, Busan, Melissa, a 28-year-old tourist from Canada, said this while holding several types of Mediheal sheet masks in both hands.

She is on a 10-day trip to Korea, spending three days in Busan before heading to Seoul. She said, "When I visit Sephora in Toronto, I can sense that K-beauty has already become a trend in the cosmetics industry. As soon as I arrived, I went straight to an Olive Young store. Olive Young has long been a must-visit destination for anyone coming to Korea."

Tourists walking along the street in front of Haeundae Beach carrying Olive Young shopping bags. Photo by Jae-Hyun Park

The Haeundae Beach area, which I visited that afternoon, was crowded with tourists from all over the world, including China, Japan, and the United States. Among the attractions, the four Olive Young stores located in the Haeundae commercial district drew particularly large crowds. These stores were bustling with foreign visitors scanning product barcodes for information or filling their baskets with products. Along the street in front of Haeundae Beach, it was common to spot tourists carrying green Olive Young shopping bags, and some even hosted live broadcasts inside the stores to introduce products.

A tourist conducting a live broadcast in real-time at an Olive Young store in Seomyeon, Busan. Photo by JaeHyun Park

A tourist is sharing the results of a skin type diagnosis test at Olive Young Busan Jeonpo Station store. Photo by JaeHyun Park

Some tourists visited the stores after attending the Busan International Film Festival, which began on the 17th. At the Haeundae Jungang Branch that day, Alan, a 49-year-old man from India, said, "As someone working in the film industry, I came to Korea for the first time to attend the Busan International Film Festival. My friend asked me to buy sheet masks, so I visited Olive Young for the first time and can now see firsthand the popularity of Korean cosmetics." Karen, a 34-year-old from Singapore who also came for the Busan International Film Festival, said, "This is my third time visiting Busan, and I've often come to Olive Young before. It's always one of the places I make sure to visit when I'm in Korea."

Foreign tourists experiencing services such as skin type diagnosis were also noticeable at nearby stores. Janet, a 30-year-old Korean American traveling with friends, took a skin type diagnosis test at the Busan Jeonpo Station Branch and said, "After visiting Seoul and Jeju, Busan is our third city. I've been to Olive Young several times before, but after taking the test, I found out I have dry skin." She added with a smile, "It's a rare service elsewhere, but it's free and convenient to experience." As of last month, Olive Young had introduced experiential beauty devices in 57 stores and plans to expand this to around 100 locations by the end of the year.

The number of foreign tourists visiting Olive Young stores in the Busan area is rapidly increasing. The number of purchases made by foreign customers at Olive Young stores in Busan jumped from 19,439 in 2022 to 253,294 in 2023, a 1,200% increase, and reached 780,633 last year, a 200% increase. The upward trend has continued this year. From January to August, the cumulative number of purchases made by foreign tourists at Olive Young stores in Busan reached 758,385, a 70% increase compared to the same period last year, surpassing last year's total.

In particular, the Haeundae area stands out as a prime commercial district benefiting from tourism. From January to August, the number of purchases by foreign customers in the Haeundae area increased by 105% year-on-year. Of these, the Haeundae Jungang Branch, located at the center of the Haeundae commercial district, accounts for 80% of its total sales from foreign customers. The Haeundae LCT Branch, located in front of Haeundae Beach, sees foreign sales accounting for as much as 75% of its total. A representative from the Haeundae LCT Branch explained, "The vast majority of our customers are foreigners, especially from Taiwan, and the best-selling products are mostly sheet masks."

Olive Young has designated more than 110 stores nationwide as "global tourist commercial districts" and manages them with special attention. Since January last year, this designation has included stores in major tourist destinations such as Gangnam, Dongdaemun, Myeongdong, Seongsu, Hongdae, as well as Busan and Jeju. Stores designated as global tourist commercial districts feature multilingual product labels and staff who can communicate in multiple languages. All stores in the Haeundae commercial district are classified as global tourist commercial districts.

Multilingual labels are applied to product tags inside the Busan Haeundae Jungang Branch store. Photo by Jae-Hyun Park

Olive Young first opened a store outside the Seoul metropolitan area in November 2008, with the Busan National University Station Branch. This was followed by the Nampo-dong Branch, Seomyeon 1st Street Branch, Seomyeon Jungang Branch, and Haeundae Sponge Branch. An Olive Young representative explained, "Areas where Olive Young stores are located are referred to as 'Olse-gwon,' and are evaluated as commercial districts with guaranteed high foot traffic. Amid the rise and fall of commercial areas, we are diversifying our store operation strategies and playing the role of an anchor tenant to unlock the potential of local commercial districts."

Olive Young Busan Seomyeon 1st Street Branch. Provided by CJ Olive Young

Olive Young's strategy of opening stores outside the metropolitan area is contributing to job creation for local youth. The proportion of employees working in their hometowns, excluding Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon, is as high as 80%. In the case of Busan, this figure approaches 95%. For logistics facilities established to meet online demand, local hiring is also prioritized. An Olive Young representative stated, "Since opening our first non-metropolitan store in 2008, we have continued to grow alongside local communities, injecting vitality into commercial districts and providing a stepping stone of opportunity for young people. Going forward, we will continue to serve as a bridge connecting local communities and customers through K-beauty landmarks established across Busan and the rest of the country."