Partner
Cutlery
Tableware & Living Goods Import / Republic of Korea
Well-made things, brought over.
LOVA INTERNATIONAL imports tableware and everyday goods into Korea — chosen for how they are used here, then carried through import filing, Korean labelling and the channels that sell them.
About
Tableware first, and done properly.
LOVA INTERNATIONAL is an import and distribution company based in Busan. Tableware is where we work today — cutlery, glassware, ceramics and table linen — and it is the category we know in detail.
The company started from cooking. Our founder cooks at home, plates it properly, and noticed that the bowl and the spoon change a meal as much as the recipe does. Things made that carefully often come from small overseas manufacturers who have never sold into Korea. That gap is the business, in tableware and in the everyday goods next to it.
Starting here is deliberate. Tableware taught us which glass survives a Korean dishwasher cycle, which bowl size fits a rice-and-soup setting, and what the Korean import and labelling paperwork asks for. We take on a new category when we can answer that level of question in it, not before.
Fit before flair
A piece is checked against dishwashers, microwaves and Korean serving sizes before we discuss volume. If it only works in a photograph, we pass.
Small orders first
The first order is deliberately small. We put it in front of buyers, read what comes back, and scale only what sells.
No gaps on the shelf
Reorders are planned backwards from production and shipping lead time. A listing that runs out of stock loses its ranking, and the brand pays for that twice.
Vision
In three years, we want to be the first call a tableware brand makes when Korea comes up — not because we are the largest, but because the answer they get here is accurate.
Founder’s Note
“The recipe was mine. The rest of the meal was decided by what I put it on.”
I like cooking. Not only the cooking — moving the food onto a plate, setting the spoon down beside it, sitting in front of it. At some point it became obvious that the same dish felt different depending on what carried it. That is a small thing, and it is also the whole reason this company exists.
Looking for those pieces, I kept landing on makers abroad who had no route into Korea. Not because their work was weak, but because importing into this market is a specific job: filings, testing, Korean labelling, buyers who each want something slightly different. So I built the company to do that job.
What I can promise a brand is plain: I will tell you what I do not know, I will not promise numbers I cannot stand behind, and I will send you what actually happened after the product went out — including the parts that did not work. Everything else we can discuss.
Anna Jeong
Founder & CEO, LOVA INTERNATIONAL
Why Us
What a brand gets from working with us.
01
Tableware, in detail
Material behaviour, breakage in transit, dishwasher and heat resistance, sizing for Korean use — these are the questions we work on every day, and we do not take on more than we can answer for.
02
Checked against the Korean table
Korean households eat with rice and soup bowls on the same setting, wash in compact dishwashers, and buy in small apartments with limited storage. A piece that ignores that sells once and stops.
03
Channels we have actually sold through
Open marketplaces, lifestyle platforms, offline retail and department stores each need different images, pricing structure and stock rhythm. We work from what those channels have already asked of us.
04
You talk to the person deciding
No account layer between the brand and the decision. Questions on price, timing or paperwork are answered by the founder, in English or Korean.
Services
From finding the maker to keeping the listing alive.
Brand Sourcing
Brand sourcing
Finding overseas tableware makers whose material, price band and production capacity match a real Korean shelf — not only a mood board.
Import
Import & customs
Import filing for food-contact articles, material testing arrangements, customs clearance, and the documents each of those steps requires.
Distribution
Domestic distribution
Listing, stock allocation and reorder timing across online marketplaces, lifestyle platforms, offline retail and department stores.
Market Entry
Korean market entry
Price structure, SKU selection and packaging adjustments for the Korean market, plus a plain read on where the brand sits against what is already here.
Marketing
Brand marketing
Korean product copy and detail pages, photography direction for local platforms, and campaign timing around the seasons when tableware actually moves.
Brand Development
Brand development
Sell-through reporting, review and return analysis, and line extension proposals built from what Korean buyers kept and what they sent back.
Process
How a product gets from your factory to a Korean table.
STEP 01
Samples and material review
We request samples, check material composition, finish and packaging, and confirm the factory can hold that quality at repeat volume.
STEP 02
Terms agreed
Price, minimum order quantity, distribution scope and contract term are settled in writing. Regulatory work and orders begin once those terms are signed.
STEP 03
Regulatory check
For the agreed items, we confirm which Korean rules apply to that material as a food-contact article, and what testing and documents the first shipment will need.
STEP 04
First order
The first order is placed at a small quantity and listed on the agreed channels. We are looking for real signals: sell-through pace, review wording, breakage rate, return reasons.
STEP 05
Import, labelling and clearance
Import filing, testing where required, Korean labelling applied to the product or package, and clearance into a domestic warehouse.
STEP 06
Channel rollout
Channels are added in order, not all at once, so pricing stays consistent and the brand does not end up competing with itself.
STEP 07
Reporting and reorder
The brand receives what sold, what came back and why. Reorder quantities are set from that record and from production lead time.
Compliance
Korean requirements for tableware, handled on our side.
Tableware that touches food is regulated in Korea as a food-contact article. Below is the outline of what applies. The exact scope depends on material and on how each item is classified.
Importer registration
Import of food-contact articles is carried out under a registered import and sales business, filed with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. The brand does not need a Korean entity for this.
Import declaration per shipment
Each shipment is declared before clearance, with the product, material and manufacturer stated. Documents are prepared on our side; the factory supplies material composition.
Material testing
Depending on material — stainless steel, glass, ceramic, plastic, coated metal — testing against Korean standards for food-contact articles may be required, including migration and heavy metal items.
Korean labelling
Product or package carries Korean labelling — item name, material, country of origin, importer details, and use or care information such as heat and dishwasher suitability. We produce and apply it.
Children’s items and non-food articles
Items intended for children, and items that do not contact food, fall under separate Korean rules including KC certification where applicable. These are reviewed item by item before order.
Brands
Pieces we have handled in Korea.
Partner
Cutlery
Partner
Table linen
Partner
Glassware
Partner
Cutlery
Partner
Cutlery
Partner
Cutlery
Partner
Ceramics
Channels
Where the products are sold.
Online marketplaces
Naver Smart Store
Coupang
11st
Gmarket
Auction
Lotte ON
SSG.COM
KakaoTalk Gift
ZigzagLifestyle & design platforms
Ohou
29CM
W Concept
10x10
CHAPTER1
RoomingOffline retail
Emart
Lotte MartDepartment stores
Shinsegae Department Store
Lotte Department Store
The Hyundai
NC Department Store
AK PlazaContact
Tell us what you make. We will tell you what Korea requires.
Brand enquiries, distribution proposals and retail buying requests all come through the same form. Written enquiries are answered in English or Korean.
- info@lovaintl.com
- Phone
- +82 10-3950-8737
- Address
- #610, 9 Sinam-ro 15beon-gil, Busanjin-gu, Busan 47369, Republic of Korea
- Hours
- Mon–Fri, 09:00–18:00 KST (UTC+9)