Do we need a Korean company to sell in Korea?

No. OSC holds the Korean business registration, the mail-order sales registration, and the imported food registration. We import your product as the importer of record.

Should we use a distributor or an importer?

A distributor usually buys your stock and decides price and channels. With OSC as your importer, you keep ownership of your stock in most of our contracts, and price, pages, and ads follow one plan set with you.

Which platform should we start on?

Usually Coupang, because it is where Korean shoppers already buy and the fastest place to collect reviews. Search-led categories add Naver early. Category stores such as Kurly or Olive Young, and your own store, come once the brand has reviews and people search for it by name.

How long until we are selling?

In a typical plan the Korean label and pages take about two weeks after your product files arrive, and the store opens around week four. Products that need extra documents take longer, and we tell you which before you ship.

How do Korean shoppers find a new brand?

They search on Coupang and Naver, read reviews and blog posts, and watch short-form video. We build those in that order, so a shopper who hears about you can find you and buy.

Which products can you import?

Food, health supplements, and food-contact products go under our own import registration. Categories that need a separate Korean license, such as cosmetics, go through a licensed partner we name in the contract.

What does Korea market entry cost?

It depends on the route and the product. Ads only is priced on ad spend. For the sales agency and store operation, we send a proposal after we see your product, starting with a market check from Coupang's keyword data.

Tell us about your product with the form below or at hello@oscsnm.com. We reply in English, Japanese, or Chinese.

[Korea market entry for consumer brands]Sell in Korea,then grow the brand.

We import your product, open it on Coupang and Naver, and build the brand Korean shoppers search for by name.

OSC has run 300+ brands in Korea since 2019 and has been a Coupang Ads partner since 2024. You don't need a Korean company.

IMPORTImporter of record · customs and Korean labels

SELLCoupang first, then Naver, category stores, and your own store

GROWBrand search, reviews, and short-form video in Korean

Tell us about your product→Four ways to sell in Korea↓

IMPORTER OF RECORD · COUPANG ADS PARTNER · 300+ BRANDS

Korea market entry:four ways to sell in Korea.

Cross-border marketplace

Your own Korean company

A distributor

What OSC runs

An importer that sells online

Korean company

Not needed

Yours, set up first

Not needed

Stock

Abroad, shipped per order

Yours, in Korea

Usually bought by the distributor

In Korea, yours in most contracts

Delivery

Across the border

From Korea

Price and brand

You decide

Mostly the distributor decides

One plan, set with you

Time to first sale

Weeks

Months

Depends on finding one

About 4 weeks in a typical plan

[Where Koreans shop]

Where to sell in South Korea:each channel has a job.

Which channel comes first depends on the product. Search-led categories lean on Naver, convenience-led ones on Coupang.

CHANNEL

Coupang

Where shoppers go for fast delivery and price. The quickest place to build sales and reviews.

CHANNEL

Naver

Korea's main search engine. Smart Store products show up in Naver search, which builds trust.

CHANNEL

Category stores

Stores built around one category: Kurly for premium food, Olive Young for health and beauty, and Musinsa for fashion. They fit once reviews are in place.

CHANNEL

Your own store

Repeat buyers, subscriptions, and your own customer data, once shoppers know the brand.

Why we start on Coupang.

Coupang is where Korean shoppers already search and buy, so it is the fastest place to prove a product sells and to collect the first reviews. A Coupang bestseller changes the conversation with other channels: their buyers start asking to list it. We run Coupang as a Coupang Ads partner, and in our sales agency model OSC invests the ad spend.

We set up Koreain reverse.

A shopper who hears about your brand and searches for it has to find something worth buying. So we build from the purchase page backwards, then spend on awareness.

STEP01

FIRST

Product page

Coupang and Naver pages in Korean, built around the words shoppers type.

WHY

→Every visit can turn into a sale

STEP02

THEN

Brand search

Your brand name returns your products, on Coupang and on Naver.

WHY

→Shoppers who know you can find you

STEP03

THEN

Reviews and blogs

A review program and Korean blog posts answer the questions shoppers ask before buying.

WHY

→Proof when they compare

STEP04

LAST

Short-form video

Instagram, YouTube Shorts, and creators, once there is something to land on.

WHY

→Awareness that turns into sales

The number we watch:shoppers who search your name.

Category searches like "granola" or "fresh dog food" cost ad spend every time. Searches for your brand name come from people who already want you. We track the share of sales that start with a brand search and plan for it to grow: around 10% in the first stage, 20% in the second, and 30% after a year. The higher it gets, the less your sales depend on ads.

[Korea go-to-market]

A Korea go-to-market plan,stage by stage.

Each stage starts when the one before it has done its job.

STAGE

Launch · months 1–3

Import, Korean pages, and your Coupang and Naver stores. A review program for the first reviews.

STAGE

Awareness · months 4–6

Your brand story in Korean: blog posts, Instagram, and creators.

STAGE

Scale · months 7–12

More ads and promotions on what already sells. Then neighboring categories.

STAGE

Expand · month 13+

New products, category stores such as Kurly or Olive Young, your own store, and subscriptions.

[Before you ship]

Know your Korean marketbefore the first shipment.

As a Coupang Ads partner, we can read Coupang's keyword data for your category. Our proposal answers three questions before you commit.

QUESTION

How many Koreans search for your category?

Yearly clicks on the search terms for your category, and what they add up to in sales.

QUESTION

Who leads, and how much is still open?

The top brands' share of your category, and the part no brand holds yet.

QUESTION

What would a 3%, 5%, or 10% share mean?

Monthly sales at each share, and the search terms to win first.

300+ brands run in Korea,since 2019.

Each square is one brand OSC has run in Korea.

₩70B+

cumulative sales across those brands

2019

founded in Seoul

2024

Coupang Ads partner since

[Working with OSC]

Three ways to start,all on Coupang first.

Sales agency, where OSC invests the Coupang ad spend. Store operation on your own account. Or ads only.

Sales agency Store operation Ads only

See how we sell on Coupang

Questions about selling in Korea

FAQ

No. OSC holds the Korean business registration, the mail-order sales registration, and the imported food registration. We import your product as the importer of record.
A distributor usually buys your stock and decides price and channels. With OSC as your importer, you keep ownership of your stock in most of our contracts, and price, pages, and ads follow one plan set with you.
Usually Coupang, because it is where Korean shoppers already buy and the fastest place to collect reviews. Search-led categories add Naver early. Category stores such as Kurly or Olive Young, and your own store, come once the brand has reviews and people search for it by name.
In a typical plan the Korean label and pages take about two weeks after your product files arrive, and the store opens around week four. Products that need extra documents take longer, and we tell you which before you ship.
They search on Coupang and Naver, read reviews and blog posts, and watch short-form video. We build those in that order, so a shopper who hears about you can find you and buy.
Food, health supplements, and food-contact products go under our own import registration. Categories that need a separate Korean license, such as cosmetics, go through a licensed partner we name in the contract.
It depends on the route and the product. Ads only is priced on ad spend. For the sales agency and store operation, we send a proposal after we see your product, starting with a market check from Coupang's keyword data.
Tell us about your product with the form below or at hello@oscsnm.com. We reply in English, Japanese, or Chinese.

Tell us about your product

Your product list with ingredients, a photo of the current label, your wholesale price range, and where you sell today make the first call faster. If you don't have all of that yet, that's fine. Send what you have.

We reply in English, Japanese, and Chinese. You can also write to hello@oscsnm.com.

[Korea market entry for consumer brands]Sell in Korea,then grow the brand.

Korea market entry:four ways to sell in Korea.

Where to sell in South Korea:each channel has a job.

Coupang

Naver

Category stores

Your own store

Why we start on Coupang.

We set up Koreain reverse.

Product page

Brand search

Reviews and blogs

Short-form video

The number we watch:shoppers who search your name.

A Korea go-to-market plan,stage by stage.

Launch · months 1–3

Awareness · months 4–6

Scale · months 7–12

Expand · month 13+

Know your Korean marketbefore the first shipment.

How many Koreans search for your category?

Who leads, and how much is still open?

What would a 3%, 5%, or 10% share mean?

300+ brands run in Korea,since 2019.

Three ways to start,all on Coupang first.

Questions about selling in Korea

Do we need a Korean company to sell in Korea?

Should we use a distributor or an importer?

Which platform should we start on?

How long until we are selling?

How do Korean shoppers find a new brand?

Which products can you import?

What does Korea market entry cost?

How do we start?

Tell us about your product