Reporting and analysis on business, corporate strategy, investment, startups, regulation, and market developments in Korea and beyond.
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Reporting on companies, industry, corporate strategy, and regulation, with attention to how business developments reshape Busan and Korea.
Korean ramen has become a global favorite with its bold, spicy flavors. However, as health-conscious trends grow, the industry faces challenges in balancing convenience, taste, and nutrition to meet evolving consumer demands.
Retail vacancy rates in South Korea hit multi-year highs, with both trendy districts and new apartment complexes struggling to attract tenants.
In South Korea, the sharp rise in food prices is putting a strain on both consumers and small businesses. As inflation persists, many workers are opting for in-house dining, while small eateries struggle with rising ingredient costs, energy prices, and labor shortages.
What happens when every taste is a brand, every menu is a manual, and every chef follows someone else’s recipe?
Franchise bakeries have flourished in Korea. But at what cost? Local flavors, food identity, and cultural diversity are disappearing.
Aesthetic care is thriving — but at what price to the country’s healthcare system? Inside the contradiction between cosmetic excellence and essential care collapse.
Once seen as a lifeline for small businesses, publicly funded food delivery apps are shutting down across South Korea. Poor design, weak infrastructure, and lack of sustained strategy reveal a deeper problem: local governments are still treating digital services as short-term campaigns.
South Korea’s knowledge industry centers were meant to support startups and SMEs, but oversupply and speculative investment have left thousands of office spaces vacant, driving investors into financial distress.
Self-employment in South Korea has reached a historic low, with the number of small business owners falling below 5.5 million. As debt surges and revenue drops, the future of independent businesses looks uncertain.
The decline of Homeplus marks a turning point for South Korea’s retail industry. E-commerce, debt, and shifting consumer habits have reshaped the market—can Homeplus adapt?
South Korea’s new towns, once envisioned as thriving urban hubs, are now facing a crisis of rising commercial vacancies. Empty storefronts and struggling businesses reflect a deeper flaw in urban planning—overestimated commercial demand, rigid zoning laws, and shifting consumer habits.
South Korea’s restaurant industry faces an unprecedented crisis as closures hit record highs, outpacing new openings for the first time in 16 years.
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