Visitors look at BYD vehicles displayed at the 2025 Seoul Mobility Show in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, on April 4, 2025. Photo: VCG

From electric vehicles (EVs) and smart devices to tea drinks and cosmetics, Chinese brands are gaining ground in South Korea, highlighting stronger competitiveness and a broader shift in bilateral ties toward more horizontal competition and cooperation amid closer, mutually beneficial economic engagement, Chinese analysts said.

South Korean consumers' perception of Chinese brands is gradually improving, with product quality and reliability gaining greater recognition, the Yonhap News Agency reported on Monday, citing analysts.

Chinese carmaker BYD accounted for 4.8 percent of South Korea's imported EV market in the first five months of this year, ranking fourth after Tesla, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, Yonhap reported, citing data released by the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association on Monday.

The momentum was already evident earlier this year. According to South Korean industry data, BYD Korea ranked fourth in imported car sales between January and April, selling 5,991 EVs in South Korea, up about 1,000 percent from a year earlier.

More Chinese EV brands are moving into the market. Xpeng, having  completed registration of its South Korean unit in June 2025, plans to enter the market this year, according to Yonhap. 

Zeekr, Geely's premium EV brand, has opened a showroom in Seoul's Gangnam district, formally launching its market push, the China News Service reported.

Chinese-made EVs are becoming a stronger force in South Korea's EV import market. EVs account for more than half of South Korea's imported car sales in April, while the sales of Chinese-made EVs surged 286.1 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, according to South Korean industry data, cited in reports.

The trend also extends to consumer electronics. According to Yonhap, Xiaomi set up a South Korean subsidiary last year and now operates eight on-site stores, with steady sales growth. More than 1,000 Xiaomi electric fans are sold a day in South Korea, while its products rank among Coupang's top wearable-device bestsellers, the Yonhap report said.

"Chinese brands' growing presence is particularly significant given South Korea's mature and highly competitive market with strong domestic brands," said Zhang Huizhi, director of the Institute for North Korea and South Korea Studies at the Northeast Asian Research Institute of Jilin University. "It shows that Chinese brands and China's technological strength are being viewed in a more positive and objective way in South Korea."

The stronger competitiveness of Chinese products is the fundamental driver, as advantages in technology, market scale, cost performance and industrial-chain maturity make them increasingly attractive to local consumers, Zhang told the Global Times on Monday.

The change is unfolding as China-South Korea economic cooperation shifts from the previous vertical division of labor to a more horizontal collaboration, a consensus reached by business communities from both sides during the South Korean president's visit to China earlier this year, according to the Chinese Embassy in South Korea.

"South Korea's changing view of competition with China reflects a more realistic recognition among political and business circles of China's rapid economic and technological progress, as well as the need to adapt to a new stage of parallel competition and cooperation," Zhang noted.

EVs are a clear example: China's large-scale application scenarios and mature industrial ecosystem offer practical reference value for South Korea, an energy-deficient country seeking an industrial transformation, she said.

In January, the two sides agreed to further tap the potential of traditional industries while expanding new growth points in areas such as artificial intelligence, the green economy, high-end manufacturing and the silver economy, in order to upgrade bilateral economic cooperation, according to the Chinese Embassy in South Korea.

Recent industry-level exchanges have reflected this broader shift. In March, South Korea sent a research group to China to study autonomous-driving technologies and policy systems, aiming to strengthen its own industry by drawing on China's experience.

Beyond cars and electronics. Chinese food, tea drink, beauty and fashion brands are gaining ground in South Korea.

In tea drinks, CHAGEE entered South Korea in April and has continued to expand, while Auntea Jenny, Chabaidao and Mixue are already in the market and Luckin Coffee is preparing to launch there. 

A consumer survey by South Korean market research firm Embrain Trendmonitor showed that more than 80 percent of respondents felt the influence of China-related services and content was expanding, while 71.1 percent said that they had used Chinese services or products in the past year.

For South Korean consumers, the growth of Chinese brands means more choices and more cost-effective products and services, Zhang said, adding that stronger China-South Korea cooperation in supply chains, technology, industry and rules-setting can help stabilize regional economic development and create broader benefits for both sides.