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From Emart's first-ever Tesla accessories partnership to Lotte's budget sake push and a flurry of stock market moves driven by AI and robotics, here is everything happening in Korean retail and business this week.
From the mineral sunscreen ingredients powering a global clean beauty shift to CJ Olive Young's first US store in Pasadena and Cosmax's European manufacturing push, Korea's beauty industry is building serious global infrastructure — not just viral moments.
CJ Olive Young, Korea's dominant beauty retail chain, opens its first U.S. store in Pasadena, California on May 29 — bringing its "beauty playground" concept and over 5,000 K-beauty products stateside, with four more U.S. locations planned by year's end.
CJ OliveYoung, South Korea's dominant health and beauty retailer, opens its first U.S. physical store in Pasadena, California on May 29, 2026, alongside a new American online shop — positioning itself as a launchpad for K-beauty brands in the American market.
CJ Group is staging a major K-food and K-beauty push across the U.S. — from a PGA Tour food pavilion in Texas to the opening of Olive Young's first American store — while Korean bakery brands hit Costco at scale and ube's purple wave sweeps through Korean cafes.