Idus Handmade Market Launches in Japan, Expanding Global Reach for Korean Artists

The leader in South Korea's handmade commerce platform, 'idus', has finally made its full-fledged entry into the Japanese market. Starting with the launch of its English global app in 2023, it has already captured over 45,000 international customers across 138 countries, proving the potential of K-Handmade. Japanese customers, in particular, have shown remarkable activity. They recorded an average purchase amount per person more than three times higher than domestic customers, driving idus's global sales to the top tier. The enthusiastic requests for local language and Yen payment services were indeed evidence of the Japanese market's potential. Responding to these voices, idus has fully added Japanese language support and Yen payment services to its existing global app. They have spared no effort in building an app environment optimized for the Japanese market, not only by collaborating with professional translation agencies but also by utilizing the latest large language models (LLMs). Support to lower the barriers for artists' international expansion is also generously provided. Through overseas shipping proxy services, artists can easily showcase their works to the global market just as they would for domestic delivery, and smooth customer service responses utilizing automatic translation functions allow artists to focus solely on their creative activities. Kim Dong-hwan, CEO of Backpackr, emphasized that Japan will be a key hub for global expansion, as it is the world's fourth-largest e-commerce market and possesses a cultural characteristic that respects the value of handicrafts. He revealed his ambitions, promising a variety of support measures to further accelerate the global sales growth and development of handmade artists. In fact, idus operates a 'Global Artist Registration Program' for artists dreaming of international expansion, providing comprehensive support including education, logistics outsourcing, and global SNS marketing. A new leap for idus is anticipated, where the beauty of K-Handmade will extend beyond Japan to reach the entire world.