K-Beauty's New Channel: Pharmacies; Creatrip Unveils 'K-Pharmacy' Category

Following K-POP and K-Beauty, 'K-Pharmacy' is now emerging as a must-visit for foreign tourists. Inbound tourism platform Creatrip has officially launched its 'K-Pharmacy Category' products, reflecting this trend and aiming to attract foreign tourists. This program is a foreigner-customized service designed to allow tourists to purchase personalized products with consultations from professional pharmacists at pharmacies within major commercial districts of Seoul and Busan. After beginning pilot operations in mid-August, it is currently linked with 9 pharmacies in areas such as Gangnam, Hongdae, and Myeongdong, and is expected to expand to 20 branches by next January. In particular, pharmacists capable of multilingual responses (English, Chinese, Japanese, etc.) and foreign language support staff are stationed there, helping tourists conveniently experience Korean pharmacy culture without language barriers. Among foreign customers, not only functional products like skin regeneration creams and trouble care ointments, but also the 'cosmeceutical' (pharmacy cosmetics) product line, which blurs the lines between cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, is receiving an enthusiastic response. In particular, 'Rejuol Cream,' containing PDRN, popularly known as 'salmon injection cream,' has become a 'must-buy item' for foreign tourists and is gaining significant popularity. Since its pilot launch, the results have been remarkable. Pharmacy category bookings increased by 44% in the second week of September compared to the first week, and bookings are expanding beyond Asia, including Singapore (121%), Hong Kong (96%), and Taiwan (9%), to American tourists as well. Lim Hye-min, CEO of Creatrip, emphasized that "Korean pharmacy shopping vlogs" and "pharmacy recommended item content" spreading through social media and short-form platforms have created the neologism 'pharmacy tour,' highlighting pharmacies' emergence as new tourist attractions. She added, "We plan to continuously expand our product and service areas to ensure foreign customers can use Korean pharmacies with greater confidence and convenience in the future."