A product from a cosmetics factory in Sinuiju, where North Korean leader Kim Jong-un recently visited, is attracting a lot of attention in China.

The “Kaesong Koryo Ginseng” balm cream, made by the “Spring Fragrance” (direct translation) company in North Korea, is currently being sold at 12 shops at China’s decentralized shopping platform Taobao, with user reviews of the cream coming up on Chinese lifestyle social media Xiaohongshu. 

The product, according to the Chinese purchasers, is cheap, absorbs in to the skin quickly, and packaged without the typical North Korean feel.


(Taobao)

“The North Korean guide said this balm doesn’t contain any preservatives and that the ginseng in this has anti-aging effects,” wrote a Chinese consumer clearly won over by the North Korean product.

“I found out about this balm through a friend. It’s cheap but effective,” wrote a user on Xiaohongshu.

“Spring Fragrance is the best cosmetic brand in North Korea. I would have bought a dozen boxes if I had enough cash,” said another.

Spring Fragrance is reportedly the first cosmetic company in North Korea which the experts believe is likely to receive one of the first Chinese investments when economic censors against North Korea are lifted.

Spring Fragrance’s products are relatively cheap that a 40g cream is 6,000 won ($5), a 100 ml face lotion 9,000 won ($8) and a set of seven items 40,000 won ($36). A Taobao merchant claims to have made a profit of 340,000 to 1.7 million won a month selling the products.

Some credit the success of the cream to North Korea’s Moranbong girl band, known to be the best looking females in the country, whose beauty is said to be kept up with the Spring Fragrance products.

Kim Jong-un reportedly gifts Spring Fragrance beauty products to female soldiers, musicians and artists when he visits a military base or cultural performance.

By Lim Jeong-yeo and Kim Soo-bin, Intern Reporter (soob@heraldcorp.com)