The Korean Wave's fervor in Southeast Asia is no longer confined to the stage. According to the recently published "Overseas Hallyu Survey," favorability toward Korean cultural content last year ranked at the top in Southeast Asian countries. The Philippines recorded 87%, while Indonesia (82.7%) and Thailand (79.4%) registered figures around 80%.
Interest in K-culture is spreading to dramas, variety shows, and webtoons. Korean lyrics and drama lines are turning into short-form challenges and memes, and the cosmetics and instant noodles seen on screen are quickly making their way into shopping carts. Hallyu is now seeping in beyond a "culture to watch and listen to" and becoming a "lifestyle." Kimchi and tteokbokki line the shelves of large supermarkets in Hanoi and Bangkok, and reviews of K-beauty products flood Shopee, Southeast Asia's leading e-commerce platform — penetrating deep into the daily lives of local consumers.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a young market of 700 million people with an average age of 31. As economic growth and urbanization push incomes higher, consumption is shifting from a low-price orientation to a premium market that values quality, design, brand, and reliability. Growth is also explosive. According to market research firm NielsenIQ, private consumption in ASEAN's six major countries is projected to grow at an average annual rate of 8% to reach $5 trillion by 2035. Korea's exports of the five major consumer goods categories — agri-food, cosmetics, household goods, fashion, and pharmaceuticals — to Southeast Asia totaled $6.9 billion last year. Southeast Asia is Korea's fourth-largest consumer goods export market, accounting for 15% of total exports — a significant share. Considering the growth of the middle class and the expansion of high-income earners in Southeast Asia, there is ample room to translate Hallyu preference into preference for Korean products. That is why now is the right time to expand K-consumer goods exports to Southeast Asia.
Seizing this opportunity requires three approaches. First, contact points where consumers can directly experience K-consumer goods must be expanded. KOTRA will hold the Hallyu Expo, an integrated cultural and industrial export marketing event, in Hanoi, Vietnam, in early July, and is hosting the "Seoul Food in Bangkok" exhibition in Thailand for the third consecutive year. Alongside such flagship projects, KOTRA plans to push forward with various consumer goods business events, including the "Korea-Thailand Biotech Roadshow," to keep the K-consumer goods boom going.
Second, cooperation with distribution channels must be strengthened. For customer experiences to translate into everyday consumption, products must be reliably available at both online and offline stores. We need to actively support the Southeast Asian expansion of Korean distribution networks while also linking our consumer goods with local and global distribution networks. Through its "One Trade Office, One Distribution Network" initiative, KOTRA is delivering on-the-ground results, such as placing Korean consumer goods in major Philippine retailers.
Third, country-by-country tailored strategies are essential. The 11 ASEAN countries are often grouped into a single region, but they differ in income levels, religion, and culture, as well as in distribution and industrial structures and government policies. For example, income gaps across countries and social classes are vast — from Singapore, with per capita gross domestic product (GDP) exceeding $100,000, to Myanmar, where it remains in the $1,000 range — requiring different approaches tailored to each market. Market-specific entry conditions, such as halal certification for food in Indonesia and Malaysia, where Muslims make up a large share of the population, must also be carefully read.
Southeast Asia is now being reshaped from a mere production base into a massive market driven by both production and consumption. With Hallyu running hot, it is time for companies and relevant agencies to work together so that our consumer goods take root as a K-lifestyle in the daily lives of local consumers.
