By The Straits Times | Created at 2026-06-23 05:26:48 | Updated at 2026-06-23 23:22:35
18 hours ago
SEOUL – The number of foreign tourists who returned to Korea for Olive Young’s sale season in both its March and June rounds in 2026 was 11 times higher than in 2023, retailer CJ Olive Young said on June 22.
The company based the figure on an analysis of foreign customer data conducted with Global Tax Free, Korea’s largest tax refund operator.
Foreign visitors who come to Korea two or more times a year to coincide with the sales have grown roughly twofold annually on average since 2023, according to CJ Olive Young. About 6,200 foreign tourists visited three or more times during the 2025 sale periods.
Because tax refund rules require travellers to leave the country within a set window, the company said those shoppers appear to have flown home before returning to Korea for a later sale.
The Olive Young Sale runs seasonally, in March, June, September and December, with more than 1,500 beauty brands taking part. Olive Young has attributed the repeat visits to the size of the event and to shoppers’ trust in K-beauty products after using them at home.
During the June sale, foreign sales at stores outside the Seoul area rose 72 per cent from 2025. Visits to the Olive Young Global Mall, the company’s overseas online platform, climbed more than 180 per cent over the same period.
Olive Young said it plans to strengthen its K-beauty product curation and upgrade services at stores in tourist-heavy areas, including shopping-support devices.
“More foreigners are returning to Korea during the sale periods, which shows Olive Young has become more than a leading K-beauty brand.
“We will keep working to improve foreign tourists’ satisfaction and to widen the points where K-beauty brands meet customers around the world,” an Olive Young official said. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
