The distance from Kolkata to Seoul is roughly two and a half thousand miles. Yet, Gen Z in Bengal does not appear to be daunted by it. Kimchi ramen, bibimbap, kimbap-you name it, they can get it all nearby. But does Korean culture stop at food and entertainment? Not at all. Its influence is clearly visible in young people’s fashion too. Crop tops, cargo pants, shorts, and checked skirts-there’s hardly anything missing from their wardrobes. Even their dressing tables are now home to beauty products like rice water, ginseng, and snail mucin. Statement jewellery, half-moon bags, water bottles with quirky designs, pastel-colored mugs, and key rings-South Korea has silently entered the daily lives of Gen Z.
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What started with K-pop has now extended into even the smallest aspects of daily life. Its reach is such that you can find Korean products scattered across the city. Once available only online, these items can now be spotted while walking along Park Street. Korean-brand stores there sell everything from soft toys to bags, shoes, hats, and sunglasses, all in Korean style and all quite affordable.
One full section of these stores is dedicated to soft toys. From one shelf peeks Labbubu. Though it is “cute and creepy,” it sells like hotcakes. But Labbubu is not the only attraction; there is a blind box collection, too, while the skincare and jewellery corners are equally jammed.
Gen Z is one of the largest consumer groups for Korean products, though Korean skincare mostly appeals to millennials. Many of the products sold in these stores are imported from far-off countries like South Korea, Japan, or Thailand.
The Korean wave has also had an economic effect. A Chinese brand opened its first store in Kolkata in 2018, at a time when Gen Z hadn't started watching Korean or Chinese dramas. By 2025, even millennials were visiting these stores for Korean products. Demand has grown so high that it's almost mandatory for stores to stock Korean items.
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More recently, Kolkata has also introduced a Korean photo booth. Visitors can wear various accessories, strike different poses, and get their pictures instantaneously ready to post on Instagram if they want. This has turned out to be a hotspot for Generation Z, with Korean and Japanese products becoming fast-moving items. Korean culture and language centres are also getting more students in Kolkata. All in all, youngsters in the city seem to be embracing the South Korean lifestyle.
Along Park Street, 2–3 stores are selling Korean products, and the prices are as low as ₹ 60–100. One photo costs ₹ 200 per person at the photo booth.
Courtesy: Koja, Mumuso
