Olive Young Hits 1 Trillion Won in Foreign Tourist Sales

CJ Olive Young has emerged as a must-visit destination for foreign tourists in Korea, with celebrity endorsements from around the world fueling unprecedented growth.

The health and beauty retailer announced Wednesday that cumulative spending by foreign visitors at its offline stores nationwide exceeded 1 trillion won ($700 million) from January to November this year. The figure represents a 26-fold surge compared to full-year 2022 results. Foreign customer sales also broke the 25% threshold of total revenue for the first time this year.

Data from Global Tax Free (GTF) shows that 88% of cosmetics purchases by foreigners in Korea occur at Olive Young stores. Tax refunds were processed for visitors from 190 countries.

According to a trend report released by Olive Young this month, 40% of foreign customers visited two or more store locations, 58% purchased products from six or more brands, and 33% bought 10 or more items. The "Olive Young tour" has become a natural part of travel itineraries.

**Celebrity endorsements drive buzz**

High-profile visitors have played a significant role in the spending surge.

Jesse Lingard, who spent two years with FC Seoul, visited an Olive Young store on MBC's variety show "I Live Alone" last month, selecting mask packs, eye patches, and PDRN products. "I look at ingredients rather than brands," he said, specifically mentioning trending ingredients like retinol and PDRN. He spent over 200,000 won including staff-recommended items.

On December 12, Lingard posted photos on social media showing his luggage packed with Olive Young products including Bioheal BOH masks, Anua PDRN cream, Goodal eye patches, and AHC cream before departing for the UK. Images of his shopping haul circulated widely online.

Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary, posted 13 cosmetics products purchased in Korea on social media during her visit accompanying the APEC summit in October. Some items featured "Olive Young exclusive" labels, drawing additional attention. She was also filmed visiting a store in Gyeongju.

**Store staff witness surge firsthand**

Employees are experiencing the influx directly. "I've worked at the store for several years, and recently foreign customers have been flooding in regardless of weekday or weekend," said one Olive Young part-time worker. "Goodal mist, So Natural fixer, Torriden serum, and various mask packs sell especially fast among foreign customers."

Olive Young renovated its Myeongdong Town location as a global flagship store in 2023 and has since classified areas where foreign customers exceed half of traffic as "global tourism zones," implementing tailored strategies.

"Reaching 1 trillion won in foreign visitor purchases represents Korean small and indie brands meeting the global stage," an Olive Young official said. "We will invest to ensure K-beauty becomes a core tourism draw that brings visitors back to Korea."