Insights & Guides
Expert analysis, tactical guides, and market insights for brands selling in Korea.
61–72 of 121 articles
In Korea, the words on your cosmetic listing decide its legality: medical claims reclassify it as a quasi-drug, safety words like "non-toxic" carry criminal exposure, and efficacy claims force MFDS review.
Korea requires a separate MFDS import declaration for every food shipment, and any batch can be pulled for lab testing regardless of prior clearance. Here is how the tiered inspection regime actually works.
Korea's KC safety certification is three separate obligations, not one — third-party certification, model-by-model confirmation, or supplier self-declaration. Here is how to tell which tier your electrical product falls into before you ship.
On Coupang, eligible seller-fulfilled returns refund the buyer the moment the return courier scans the pickup — before you inspect the goods. Here is how that timing gap works and what recourse you have.
Coupang's Open API gives you operational data — orders, inventory, settlement — but blanks buyer emails and replaces real phone numbers with proxy relay numbers.
Under Coupang Rocket Growth, Coupang runs the customer-facing return, pickup, and refund — but the returned unit re-enters your inventory and you still own its disposition. Here's the boundary.
A non-resident brand generally cannot complete Korean importer registration on its own — the workflows presume a Korean business registration and a locally reachable responsible party. Here is what they actually require.
When you sell locally on Coupang, the Importer of Record must be a Korea-resident party accountable to the Korea Customs Service — not Coupang, and not your freight forwarder. Here is why.
In Korea, whether your air freshener, cleaner, or repellent is a regulated biocidal product depends on its active substance and function — not its shelf category. Here is how to sort which bucket yours falls into.
If a product is intended for use by children roughly age 13 and under, Korean law classifies it as a children's product (어린이제품) and pushes it onto a stricter, separate KC certification regime under KATS.
In Korea, a whitening, anti-wrinkle, or SPF claim reclassifies your cosmetic as a functional cosmetic (기능성화장품) requiring an MFDS review before sale. Here is which claims trigger it.
Korea sorts every ingestible product into general food or Health Functional Food, and the line is set by ingredients and claims — not format. Here is how to tell which import path yours falls under.
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