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Busan becomes Olive Young's beauty hub outside Seoul
Olive Young Millak The Market in Millak-dong, Busan / Courtesy of CJ Olive Young
By Ko Dong-hwan
Myeongdong Town inspires new Nampo Town
CJ Olive Young is stepping up efforts to establish Busan as a global K-beauty hub, opening a large-scale town store and a design-focused outlet.
The country’s largest beauty retailer said Wednesday that it relocated and expanded Olive Young Nampo Town in Nampo-dong, Busan’s Jung District, on Friday, making it the largest town-format store outside the capital region. It also opened Olive Young Millak The Market in Millak-dong, Busan’s Suyeong District, on Sunday.
The expansion reflects a sharp rise in foreign visitors to Busan. The city welcomed 3.1 million international tourists last year, the largest number among cities outside the capital region. During the first half of this year, the number rose 44 percent from previous year to 2.4 million.
Cruise tourism has been a major driver of the increase. The number of cruise passengers visiting Busan is projected to nearly quadruple to 990,000 this year from 257,000 in 2025.
Olive Young Millak The Market store is located in a waterfront commercial district stretching from Gwangalli Beach to Millak-dong, which includes Olive Young’s Gwangalli Beach, Gwangalli and Busan Gwangan Station outlets. Sales to foreign customers in the area grew 212 percent per year on average from 2023 to 2025, according to the company.
Olive Young Nampo Town in Nampo-dong, Jung District, Busan / Courtesy of CJ Olive Young
The design-focused store has adopted the concept of fictional ship Ol Young loaded with seasonal K-beauty products and docked at Millak Port. Fishing nets, boats and posters at the entrance evoke a portside fish market.
It is Olive Young’s first store to feature freezers and offer snacks, inner-beauty products and wellness items.
Olive Young Nampo Town has moved from a single-floor, 661 square meter location to a four-story, 3,000 square meter store on a main road in Nampo-dong. The store’s interior design emulated Olive Young’s Central Myeongdong Town in Seoul which has become a go-to spot for foreign tourists here.
The store is the first Olive Young store outside the capital region to introduce three beauty consultants for skin analysis and customized consultations. It also includes an advanced derma-focused zone and a mask-pack library, while improving product displays and increasing in-house workforce during peak daytime periods for cruise tourists.
“Busan, where global tourists are gathering, is one of the key stages that will lead the globalization of K-beauty,” an Olive Young official said.
“We will continue offline innovations that combine the distinct appeal of local commercial districts with customer data, so Olive Young can become a shopping landmark representing K-tourism outside the capital region as well.”