'Sex toy market is growing rapidly'
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Lee June, CEO and founder of MS Harmony
By Yi Whan-woo
Sex is a topic that’s still not discussed openly in Korea. Nevertheless, one entrepreneur sees it as a lucrative business opportunity.
Lee June, CEO and founder of MS Harmony, said sex toys, including condoms, love gels and candles, can become great export items for Korea.
MS Harmony is the only company in the country that manufactures, imports and exports sex toys legally.
“The sex toy industry has the potential to grow rapidly in the future, as our company has demonstrated,” Lee said in an interview at his office in Myeong-dong, downtown Seoul, Tuesday.
The company’s sales have been increasing by over 100 percent every year since it was set up in November 2003, according to Lee, 39. Last year, the company’s sales reached some 5 billion won ($4.7 million).
“The local sex toy market is estimated to be worth 100 billion won this year, while the overseas market is speculated to be over trillions of won,” Lee said.
He recalled a presentation held by Phillips, a multinational technology company, during his visit to its headquarters in Amsterdam. He was invited by an official from Phillips’ Seoul office.
“The company said it is shifting toward the health care industry, and their executives were interested in producing pillows, chairs and even sex toys.”
Lee said MS Harmony is recognized overseas, having won Germany’s Red Dot Award and iF Design Award in 2010, which are given to companies that create products with innovative designs.
MS Harmony sells about 20 percent of its products overseas, especially Europe, the United States, China and Japan. Its love gels, in particular, are popular exports.
To change Korean people’s perspective on sex toys, Lee plans to open a store in Hongdae, one of the most populated areas in Seoul, where many people in their 20s and 30s live and work.