Gifts Ride the Well Being Wave

With Chuseok, the Korean harvest festival, just around the corner, more and more consumers are on the hunt for “well being gifts.”

In addition to the ever-popular category of “health foods,” “well being” appliances, underwear, and chairs are filling out a fast-widening array of health-conscious commodities.

“Well Being” Appliances, Underwear, and Chairs—

Appliances don’t include just TV sets and refrigerators. Numerous small appliances are available as gift ideas for your parents, who are becoming increasingly comfortable with using electric massagers, electric poultice kits, and powered toothbrushes. Prices are usually under 100,000 won, which makes them relatively affordable.

High-tech gadgets like cell phones are apt to be considered unsuitable for the older generation, but you’ll often find parents using them as well. Cell phones with large LCD displays for easy reading without glasses are available for just over 200,000 won. According to Techno Mart, phones with large LCD displays have accounted for over 20 percent of all sales this month.

Underwear sets are also a good gift idea for Chuseok. Underwear manufacturer “Good People” is promoting a functional line of undergarments named “The Miracle of Beans,” which reportedly helps prevent skin aging through the actions of natural tocopherol and saponin. A set of top and bottom costs 30,000~40,000 won.

Also available are gingko anti-bacterial underwear, which reduces bacteria and odors, and “milky” underwear, made with milk fibers. The “Fragrance of Green Tea,” processed from green tea leaves, adds to the choice of well being fashion gifts out there, and with prices in the 30,000 and 40,000 won range, they’re a worthwhile investment.

Even chairs aspire to “well being” greatness. DuoBack announced that more and more businesses are purchasing its line of ergonomic chairs. Regular chairs are being replaced with DuoBack chairs as a Chuseok gift for the employees, and satisfaction in the work place has risen as a result. A DuoBack source added, “Presenting employees with these new chairs can give them the positive impression that their company cares about their health and well being.”

The Traditional Well Being Gift: Health Foods—

If you’re planning a trip to your hometown to visit your parents, bringing a present of health foods is a good idea. The industry has come up with a wide variety of health food sets to cater to the needs of the consumer.

Vitamin and chlorella are still two of the most popular.

At Vitamin Outlet, you’ll find professional nutritionists who will recommend the right kind of vitamin according to the age, weight, and medical history of the gift’s recipient. And CJ Nutra has put out the “Selen Vitamin C” series, which is flavored with xylitol for added tooth care.

Vitamin Outlet’s “Chlorella Gift Set” consists of three 555mg bottles containing 100 capsules each. The capsules are made from botanical materials, to eliminate the distinctive smell of chlorella. Each set costs 111,000 won.

Daewoong Pharmaceutical has released the health drink “Our Mountains, Our Ginseng,” which contains elements cultivated from wild ginseng. The gift set, composed of six 75ml bottles, is expected to be in high demand for the Chuseok holiday.

Sang Hoon Kim sanhkim@donga.com