Korean traditional food to be sold at top French department store

Hyundai Department Store will take Korea’s traditional food brand “Myeonginmyeongchon” to Galeries Lafayette in Paris, France, during the first half of next year. “Contract terms have been agreed upon between the two parties, and we are waiting for the final approval,” Hyundai said Tuesday. “The products are harvested and produced by Korean traditional craftsmen, and the brand will have a space there as a pop-up store when products are ready early next year.”

Hyundai Department Store says it is the first Korean traditional food brand to have a presence at a large department store in France. Launched in 2009, “Myeonginmyeongchon" is a premium food brand of traditional fermented food including soy bean sauce and doenjang (soybean paste) as well as natural seasonings. Prior to contract signing, Galeries Lafayette’s CEO and food and beverage director have visited Korea twice this year to study the country’s food market.

“It is difficult for foreign food to gain recognition in France that has high pride in its national food culture,” said Yoon Sang-gyeong, uncooked food team chief at Hyundai Department Store. “There is a thread of connection between Myeonginmyeongchon’s brand tradition and philosophy, which adheres to producing small amount of food, and France’s food culture, and this must have persuaded both sides that the Korean brand will be competitive in the French market.”

Hyundai has been operating Myeonginmyeongchon exclusive stores in 13 of its branches since this year. Products include mostly high-end including “Lee Jin-soo original honey” (2.4 kilograms) that is priced at 800,000 won (679 U.S. dollars), “Haebarang traditional Korean soybean sauce with 10-year maturity (500 milliliter)” priced at 100,000 won (85 dollars). Total sales this year have reached 8 billion won (6.8 million dollars).

“Helped by French market entry, we will make further efforts to combine our premium strategy with traditional food, to boost exports of the excellence of Korean tradition and premium Korean food culture," Hyundai Department Store said.

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