Find clients and sell your products in South Korea

Finding clients abroad is always a challenge, and business development in South Korea is not different. You need the right contacts and once you reach the decision maker, you need the right sales pitch.

A lot of companies that want to enter the market in South Korea do this with their general sales pitch. However, if you don't know the local regulations, pricing levels and your competition's product, sales meetings may be difficult to conclude successfully.

How to sell your product or service in South Korea?

South Korea has a population of about 52 million as of 2023. Known for its economic miracle, technological advancements, and vibrant culture, South Korea is a significant global player.

With a GDP per capita of approximately $31,000 USD in 2023, South Korea’s economy is heavily driven by exports. Major industries include electronics (like smartphones and TVs), automobiles, shipbuilding, and steel. The country is also a leader in technological innovation and digitalization.

South Korean Business etiquette

South Koreans are serious businessmen and tough negotiators. Koreans are familiar with English and if well educated, are functionally fluent in the language. However as English is not their native language, do not assume that their appearance of agreement is an indication of understanding. Koreans prefer that a familiar face make the introductions to a new business associate. They are extremely patriotic. Thus any awareness shown by foreigners of Korean culture, is rated highly.

South Koreans play with their cards close to their chest so be prepared for anything! They will always believe that they are negotiating from a position of strength (Customer is King) and try and get the maximum from the deal whilst giving away the minimum.

Confusianism and Kibun in Korean business culture?

If you wish to get familiar with the Korean culture, it’s important to know the tenets on which it’s built. Confucianism stands for virtues like honour, sincerity, duty, respect, filial piety, honour and of course, loyalty. Theoretically, Koreans believe they maintain these values even in the workplace.

Kibun, on the other hand, encapsulates another important trait of Korean culture. It means saving face, reputation, or someone’s feelings. Kibun implies refraining from open insults. But Westerners need to understand that Kibun is often a one way street. As a supplier to a Korean customer, you can lose face, repeatedly, as long as the customer saves his!

South Korea negotiation tactics

The bigger the group that you meet, the more important is your product. Remember that South Koreans will negotiate hard and wear you down, with the expectation that the weak or impatient foreigner will compromise on something to quickly close the deal. So, be prepared and follow these tactics:

Schedule your meeting a few weeks in advance. It should ideally be held between 10 and 12 am or 2 to 4 pm.
Be on time, inform if you’re late and be patient
Be prepared with a gift on the first meeting, but refrain from openly displaying it. Accept and present gifts with both hands.
Send in your company information prior to the meeting so that they have time to review it internally within their team
State your side of the deal slowly and clearly
Reiterate important points
Be diplomatic, don’t put yourself or anyone else down (kibun)
To other Asians, Koreans don’t say ‘no’ directly so pay attention to body language. Koreans believe too much in the Hollywood image of Westerners, and so will say ‘no’ to them.

VAlidate the HS-codes you use for shipping

Almost every country or trade block in the world has its own detailing on the international HS-code list. With our report you strongly reduce the risk on misclassifications, delays and higher custom duties than expected.

Tell us what you want to ship and where to and we ask you all relevant questions to get to the most likely code.

Translate your website and check your SEO

Even if your business is really international, it may be wise to set up local website translations and check whether your text aligns with the culture.

This also counts for South Korea and its inhabitants. People prefer reading in their own language and also search most of the time in their own language. Therefore you need to include the relevant keywords in your texts, and these may not be a direct translation.

With regards to content, my personal experience is that if you have a successful blog topic in one language, it is likely to do well also in other languages. Don’t reinvent the wheel, just make a proper translation.

Shipping your products

If you sell physical products, you need them to get delivered into South Korea. Depending on the country you are in, this may be a challenge.

First of all you may have to pay import duties or settle VAT. This can be complex if you don’t have your own legal entity in the country.

There may also be non-financial bariers, like certifications or approvals to be obtained. Especially for food, cosmetics or medicine this may be the case. Check this in advance, even before you invest in your marketing.