[Singapore = E-Daily Reporter Kim Jeong-yu] "Woohoo~!" On the afternoon of the 5th (local time), the Paragon shopping mall near Orchard Road in Singapore was filled with the cheers of local female fans in their 20s and 30s. This was thanks to an event held on the first floor of the mall by the fashion brand "MCM," operated by the Korean company Sungju D&D, featuring Min-ki, a member of the K-pop group "ATEEZ." Local customers who had been waiting in line in front of the MCM store since early in the day swelled exponentially in just one to two hours, soon filling the building all the way up to the third floor. On this day, K-fashion brands and K-pop took center stage at Paragon, a mall typically filled with various luxury brands.

K-brands are expanding their reach even in Singapore, Southeast Asia’s “premium hub.” K-brands across various sectors—including cosmetics (beauty), food, and fashion—are gaining deep traction among the local MZ generation. They have transcended mere trends to become a mainstream consumer category, and their brand image has also elevated to a premium status. Recently, there have even been cases of local brands in Singapore directly launching products centered on K-beauty or K-food.

An official from a local MICE (business tourism) company met in Singapore on the 3rd stated, “We’ve noticed that among K-brands, K-beauty—led by Olive Young—has become even more popular recently,” adding, “Along with the popularity of K-pop, K-beauty is playing a significant role in the Singaporean beauty market.”

In fact, Olive Young was a hot topic at a retail industry conference held at the Marina Bay Sands Expo in Singapore on the 2nd. When the moderator jokingly asked an Olive Young representative during a panel discussion, “Singapore needs an Olive Young. When do you plan to open one?” a cheer of anticipation erupted from the audience, drawing attention. Upon seeing this, the Olive Young representative expressed surprise, remarking, “That’s interesting.”

The prominence of K-Beauty was also evident in large shopping malls near Singapore’s Bugis Street, an area with high foot traffic from tourists and others. Currently, the offline beauty market in Singapore is dominated by LVMH-affiliated “Sephora.” There is also a Sephora store in "Bugis+," the flagship shopping mall on Bugis Street, which features a separate section called "Korean Skincare." This highlights K-Beauty brands, which are leaders in skincare. Additionally, major K-Beauty brands like "Laneige" (#AmorePacific) were placed right at the front of the store to attract attention.

A curated K-Beauty store, presumed to be a local brand, also caught the eye. A store named “Seoul Beauty” was selling various K-Beauty masks and skincare products in a separate section. The company is also listed on “Shopee,” Southeast Asia’s leading e-commerce platform headquartered in Singapore, where it sells over 200 types of K-Beauty products. As K-Beauty becomes a rising trend in Singapore, local businesses appear to be actively jumping into the market.

K-Food also appears to be expanding its reach. While just five or six years ago, it was limited to restaurants offering simple Korean cuisine, a variety of dining brands are now on the rise in Singapore. There are also cases where Singaporean companies are creating K-Food brands and incorporating storytelling into their branding. A prime example is “Kimchi Mama,” located inside Bugis Plus.

Kimchi Mama is a K-food dining brand inspired by Jeju home cooking, operating two locations at Changi Airport Terminal 2 and Bugis Plus. According to local media, the brand tells the story of a Singaporean husband with a Korean wife who recreates his mother-in-law’s home-cooked flavors. Visitors to the actual stores will find retro items that capture the essence of Korea, such as letters and TVs from the 1980s. It feels as though K-food has evolved beyond simply introducing Korean cuisine to become a channel for conveying Korean stories and sensibilities.

Additionally, a restaurant brand called “Jinjja Chicken,” inspired by K-chicken, is targeting local MZ-generation customers with a youthful vibe. Of course, it offers not just chicken but also a variety of Korean-style dishes such as pasta, budae jjigae, and rabokki. Its concept is “a hub for Korean street food.” This, too, is a K-food restaurant brand created by a Singaporean company.

In the fashion sector, “K-style bags” have also been trending. The star of the show is the “Gureum Bag,” which previously gained fame in Korea as the “Jennie (BLACKPINK member) bag.” Singaporean companies have collaborated with K-brands to sell products locally or have introduced them through original equipment manufacturing (OEM) partnerships.

As such, K-brands in Singapore are not merely being introduced but are actively developing on their own. A business trend of localizing Korea’s unique image and concepts continues to gain momentum. Analysts attribute this to increased familiarity with K-brands overall due to the spread of K-content, as well as the creation of conditions that allow for rapid local marketing through viral social media campaigns on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. Another reason cited is that the proliferation of e-commerce platforms like Shopee has diversified the ways in which K-brands are promoted.

A distribution industry insider stated, “Although Singapore is small in size, it has high purchasing power and strong demand for premium brands.” They added, “Recently, rather than simply imitating or importing K-brands as-is, there has been a growing trend of incorporating the ‘K-sensibility’ while localizing the brands to suit local sensibilities and circumstances, indicating that they have risen to become a mainstream force in the consumer market.”