17,000 visitors attend Budapest event, including city's mayor

Hungary's imports of Korean consumer goods surge 126%

Visitors browse the "2026 Korea Day" event held over two days at Kristály Szintér in Budapest on June 13 and 14 local time. [KOTRA]
Visitors browse the "2026 Korea Day" event held over two days at Kristály Szintér in Budapest on June 13 and 14 local time. [KOTRA]

KOTRA, together with the South Korean Embassy and the Korean Cultural Center in Hungary, held the "2026 Korea Day" event at Kristály Szintér in Budapest on June 13 and 14 local time, the trade promotion agency announced Monday.

More than 17,000 people attended over the two days, experiencing K-consumer goods and Korean cultural content. Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony also visited the event.

A dedicated retail pavilion featured seven major Hungarian distributors, with promotional activities centered on Korean cosmetics and functional products already available in local stores. Rossmann Hungary announced plans to hold a special K-beauty event, "K-Beauty Rossmann Day," in December.

Twenty South Korean small and medium-sized enterprises in the consumer goods sector took part in a promotional showcase and business consultation session. KOTRA supported buyer outreach and matchmaking on-site, and several cosmetics and household products drew strong interest from local consumers.

Seven Korean companies with operations in Hungary — including Hyundai Motor Co., Samsung Electronics and SK On — ran a "K-Tech Experience Zone." There, they showcased advanced technologies alongside their corporate social responsibility initiatives, highlighting both their technical capabilities and commitment to the local community.

Budapest Mayor Karácsony said the event "went beyond product exchange to show how Korean companies operating here contribute to local society through CSR activities." He added that it served as "an opportunity to reaffirm the value of cultural exchange and mutual growth, not just economic cooperation between the two countries."

Kim Yeon-jae, head of KOTRA's Europe regional headquarters, said the combination of high-quality consumer goods from small and medium-sized enterprises and the community-minded efforts of large Korean conglomerates was "elevating the premium status of Korean brands in the Central European market." He added that KOTRA would "actively expand cooperation with major European retailers to support Korean companies entering the European market."

KOTRA has been stepping up export support activities linked to Hungarian retail networks in line with the recent growth in K-consumer goods exports.

Last year, South Korea's agricultural and fishery food exports reached $12.4 billion and cosmetics exports hit $11.4 billion, both record highs. According to S&P Global, Hungary's imports of Korean food and cosmetics surged 126 percent year-on-year as of 2025.


eyre@heraldcorp.com