Korean Retailers Hire Foreign Staff as Tourist Numbers Surge

Korean retailers are increasingly hiring foreign staff as inbound tourist numbers show rapid recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic. Companies are moving beyond simply deploying Korean employees who speak foreign languages to placing actual foreign nationals in stores to enhance customer service competitiveness.

According to industry sources on May 7, Starbucks Korea currently employs approximately 80 foreign baristas, referred to internally as "partners." Since launching its first open recruitment for foreign baristas in 2023, Starbucks Korea has steadily expanded hiring. These employees work in major tourist areas including Itaewon, Hongdae, and Jamsil, as well as department store and airport locations. Their nationalities include Japanese, Chinese, Taiwanese, American, and Canadian. In 2024, Starbucks Korea established a separate year-round recruitment track for foreign baristas.

"As foreign tourists increased, we naturally began hiring staff capable of speaking various languages," a Starbucks Korea spokesperson said. "Since open recruitment takes a relatively long time before actual store deployment, we are also conducting year-round hiring to strengthen on-site response capabilities."

Starbucks reported that Alipay and WeChat Pay transactions in January and February this year increased approximately 135% compared to the same period last year.

The beauty and fashion industries are also hiring foreign workers. APR (278470) has deployed foreign staff specifically for foreign customer service at its flagship stores. One Chinese employee works at each of the Seongsu and Dosan locations, while three work at the Hongdae store.

"Seongsu has recently emerged as an area with high foreign foot traffic, so we hired staff capable of foreign language service from the opening," the company said. "There is also potential for additional hiring in the future."

Matin Kim, which has emerged as a leading K-fashion brand, continues to hire Chinese and Japanese staff at flagship stores in Myeongdong, Hannam, and Seongsu. Foreign customers account for more than 70% of sales at major directly-operated stores, and the company plans to maintain its foreign staff hiring policy given this high proportion.

At New Balance's Seongsu flagship store, a Moroccan employee greets foreign customers.

Some companies are strengthening employees' language skills instead of hiring foreign workers. CJ Olive Young operates "G.L.C (Global Language Course)," an in-house language training program for staff working in stores in global tourist areas. A total of 365 employees completed the online and offline program in the first half of last year.

"Foreign tourist spending is translating into actual sales, making it increasingly important to eliminate language barriers on-site," an industry official said. "Efforts to establish multilingual response systems will continue to expand."

According to the Korea Tourism Organization, the number of tourists visiting Korea last year reached 18.937 million, an 8.2% increase from 2019 before COVID-19 and a record high.