The new Seoul souvenir? A Korean designer bag.

Foreign visitors to Seoul are adding a new item to shopping lists once dominated by skincare and luxury labels: A handbag from a Korean brand that sells for a fraction of a luxury-labelled one and, unlike a jacket or a pair of jeans, fits whoever buys it.

Such labels — Matin Kim, Marhen J, Samo Ondoh, Archivepke and more — are drawing customers with trendy designs, Instagrammable stores in popular tourist destinations, quality control and relatively affordable prices

On a Friday afternoon in Seongsu, eastern Seoul, groups of shoppers flitted in and out of the Samo Ondoh flagship location, most of them foreigners seemingly eager to enter the store. Inside, a staff member switched between Korean and English as she wrapped two bags for a visitor from Singapore.

"I bought the checked one for myself and a black one for my sister," said Jessica Lim Wei Ting. "I saw it on TikTok and it costs about half of what I would pay for a designer bag at home."

Scenes like this play out across Seongsu, where Korean bag labels including Matin Kim, Stand Oil, Samo Ondoh and Fennec run flagship stores within walking distance of one another. Many of the stores have tax refund booths and signs along the aisles written in English giving instructions for purchase.

How much foreigners are buying is harder to pin down, because the brands share numbers selectively. Matin Kim said its sales value reached about 200 billion won ($149 million) in 2025.

At its Lotte Department Store main branch counter in central Seoul, foreigners accounted for about 90 percent of sales in the first half of 2026, with shoppers from China, Japan and Taiwan making up the top three nationalities. The company did not disclose a brand-wide figure.

Other retailers indicate the same trend. Foreign customers made up more than 60 percent of Stand Oil's sales at The Hyundai Seoul, the Seoul Economic Daily reported in July. Of all foreign shoppers who bought from the 15 brands most popular with foreigners at Lotte Department Store between April 2025 and May, 27 percent bought from K-fashion labels popular in Seongsu, according to an analysis by Lotte Members.

Samo Ondoh gave no figures but described a change in who walks in.

"Visitors come from the United States, Europe and Southeast Asia, including Singapore, and the nationalities of our customers are becoming more diverse," a company spokesperson said.

Archivepke, a bag label run by Kolon Industries' fashion unit, shared visitor numbers rather than sales. "At the Archivepke Atelier Seoul Forest in Seongsu-dong, foreigners account for more than 80 percent of all visitors," the company said, adding that most come from Taiwan, China and elsewhere in Asia, followed by Japan and the United States.

Vegan bag label Marhen.J said foreigners now make up more than half of both visitors and sales at its Seongsu flagship. Most come from Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Japan, Taiwan and Greater China, and many "had already come across Marhen.J in their home countries or marked it on social media as a must-visit shopping stop in Seongsu before their trip," the company said.

The demand comes as tourist spending climbs. Foreign visitors' card spending in Korea reached 2.12 trillion won in May 2026, up 67.1 percent on year and the first month above 2 trillion won, according to the Korea Tourism Organization.

Shoppers interviewed outside three stores gave similar reasons for choosing a bag: the price, a design others would recognize and the absence of a size tag.

"I wanted Korean clothes, but the sizes run small for me," said Alice Schwartz from the United States, who left Matin Kim with a black ribbon round bag. "A bag is the one thing I knew would work."

Matin Kim's three best-selling bags among foreign customers are all black: the Half Shirring Ribbon Round Bag, the Side Zipper Two Way Bag and the Shirring Tie Buckle Shoulder Bag.

Price is the other draw, though the gap depends on the comparison. Matin Kim's Half Shirring Ribbon Round Bag, made of polyurethane, sells for 138,000 won ($103).

Brands argue the draw is price measured against design. "It is not simply a bag that is in fashion in Korea," the company said. "Its design and materials are finished to a high standard, and its prices are more accessible than those of global luxury brands."

Marhen.J points to materials as well as looks, adding that its use of vegan materials has resonated with millennial and Gen Z shoppers abroad who weigh values when they buy.

"At this price I do not have to think too hard," said Priya Nair from India, who bought two bags at Stand Oil. "If I get tired of it next year, that is fine."

After checking out at one shop, Lim Wei Ting was already checking her phone for the next store. "I have one more on my list," she said.

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [[email protected]]