Korea’s culture exports are being rewritten from the product-planning stage. K-beauty brands are now building country-exclusive lines — Anua’s Japan-only azelaic acid range has passed 8 million units sold — and then selling proven overseas hits back into Korea, a “reverse export” playbook that replaces the old bestseller-first model.
Music: RESCENE’s two-hour chart sweep
Girl group RESCENE delivered the year’s surprise: their mini-album PULSE and its title track “With” hit No. 1 on Melon’s TOP 100 just two hours after release — the first such feat by a girl group since NewJeans’ “Ditto” in 2022. All five new songs landed in the top 10, and first-day sales of about 130,000 copies beat the entire first-week total of their previous album, an unlikely result for a small-agency act.
Food: Seoul pivots to B2B matchmaking
On the food side, government and industry doubled down on exports. Food Week Korea 2026 opened at COEX with 252 buyers from 46 countries and more than 1,000 domestic firms — the largest edition ever — and a deliberate pivot from consumer shows to one-on-one export consultations. Live cooking robots and AI smart-factory exhibits signaled where Korean food tech is heading.
Film and TV: a global awards season
Korean cinema keeps expanding its global footprint. Lee Chang-dong’s Possible Love — a Venice Grand Jury Prize winner and Korea’s Oscar entry — arrives on Netflix on Nov. 6, while the 47th Blue Dragon Film Awards nominations put Na Hong-jin’s Hope in front with 10 nods ahead of the Nov. 25 ceremony. On the small screen, actor Seo Yea-ji returns to film after six years in the occult horror Geumwoldo, billed as a “Korean-style vampire” story rooted in Joseon Dynasty records. Seoul, meanwhile, is turning K-pop into tourism: IVE’s comeback content is lighting up the DDP facade through Nov. 30.
What to watch next: whether RESCENE holds its chart position through the week, and how Korea’s country-specific K-beauty lines reshape export strategy into 2027.
Leave a Reply