Bungaejangter's K-Goods Overseas Sales Soar 78% on 'K-Pop Demon Hunters' Popularity

The global success of the Netflix animation 'K-Pop Demon Hunters' is driving a reverse direct purchase frenzy for K-goods, especially products based on traditional Korean culture. This work, which combines Korean folklore, K-pop, and Korean details, has generated an unprecedented response, ranking No. 1 in viewership in over 30 countries worldwide and having its OST climb the Billboard charts. This global popularity has explosively amplified worldwide interest in traditional Korean culture, K-pop, and related K-goods. Surprisingly, official merchandise from the National Museum of Korea, utilizing traditional folk paintings that served as motifs for the popular in-show characters of tigers and magpies, are gaining sensational popularity overseas. Music boxes, bucket hats, and AirPods cases, for example, have been sold to the U.S., Canada, Singapore, and more, and even ballpoint pens featuring traditional *gat* (Korean traditional hat) have been purchased in the Netherlands, demonstrating that products embodying Korean aesthetics are gaining spotlight in the global market. The secondhand trading platform Bungaejangter is playing a key role as a channel for this reverse direct purchase of K-goods. According to Bungaejangter, the number of K-goods reverse direct purchases surged by 78% compared to the same period last year, and transaction volume also rose by 56%. Notably, sales distribution was evenly spread across the Americas, Asia, Oceania, and Europe, including the U.S., Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, Singapore, Taiwan, the U.K., Canada, Germany, and France, proving that the popularity of K-goods is not limited to specific regions. Bungaejangter operates the 'Global Bungjang' website to allow international users to easily and quickly purchase Korean products, and is building a borderless secondhand trading ecosystem through collaborations with regional global partners such as Japan's Mercari and the U.S.'s eBay. A representative stated, "Interest in K-goods is expanding beyond merely star-related products to various Korean cultural contents," and revealed plans to accelerate service improvements in response to the strong demand in the global market. This exemplifies how the ripple effect of K-content is encompassing both traditional and modern Korean culture, forming new consumption trends worldwide.