From running a small shop in Uzbekistan to top codi in South Korea
Building trust among Russian-speaking customers in Ansan earns 'production rate star' No. 1
'Happiness comes from within' — a life turned around through sincerity
"My current ranking doesn't matter. The greatest reward for me has been my family's warmth and encouragement — their pride in seeing me as a hardworking mother and wife."
An immigrant woman who came to South Korea from Uzbekistan and helped out at a restaurant has risen to become Coway's top-performing codi nationwide. Spending an average of about two hours a day on service calls, she earns average monthly commissions of 15 million won ($10,200) built entirely on customer trust — writing a second chapter in her life.
The woman is Park Yun-ha (43), born Evgeniya Park, a naturalized South Korean from Uzbekistan. At the 2026 Cody Star Awards recently held by Coway, she took first place in the "production rate star" category, which measures sales performance relative to the number of customers under management. Her annual income last year reached 130 million won, and this year she has been selling an average of 62 units a month, recording average monthly commissions of 15 million won. In April, her monthly commission alone reached about 20 million won.
Park's life in South Korea was not easy from the start. After arriving in 2015, she set aside her experience running a small shop in Uzbekistan and helped her mother, who had settled in Korea earlier, at her restaurant. Five years ago, a friend's suggestion led her to start working as a Coway codi, and she has since grown into the company's top performer nationwide.
The secret to her success lies less in flashy sales techniques than in sustaining long-term relationships with customers. Most of the customers Park manages are foreign nationals. Those in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province account for about 90 percent of her client base, with the remaining 10 percent spread across the country, including the Gyeongsang provinces. Among Russian-speaking customers, she is known not merely as someone who sells products but as a guide to life in South Korea. By helping with everyday administrative tasks, she built word of mouth within the foreign community, creating a virtuous cycle in which customers bring in new customers.
Not everything has gone smoothly. Park said she sometimes feels discouraged when customers reject her pitches or when she has to introduce products to someone who shows no interest at all. "But even with those customers, if you reach out naturally at the right moments without putting pressure on them, a sale can happen," she said. "That's why I think it's important to keep building the relationship over time."
That philosophy shapes her approach to customer management. She has set a personal rule that customer care requires a minimum of five years as a baseline. Even when a customer declines to buy, she carefully notes the reason, their preferences and the products they showed interest in, then follows up when the right moment arrives — a move, a marriage or another life event that creates a need. She also makes a point of returning every missed call from a customer, aiming to give them a sense of reassurance.
She spends an average of about two hours a day on service visits, but uses the rest of her time to stay in touch with customers through mobile sales platforms and other tools. By managing her own hours and working style, she has driven her results upward on her own terms.
Even after reaching the top spot nationwide, her focus remains on her family rather than her ranking. Park said, "My current ranking doesn't matter. The greatest reward for me has been my family's warmth and encouragement — their pride in seeing me as a hardworking mother and wife." She added, "Happiness comes from within, and living joyfully with my family is the greatest goal of my life."
She also had words of encouragement for fellow codis, drawing on her own experience. "Coway is a reliable partner with innovative products and a wide range of support systems," she said. "A major advantage is that you can decide your own working hours and manage your schedule efficiently to suit your situation, all while upholding your commitments to customers and your service standards." She added, "If you make good use of the company's support and approach customers with sincerity, you can achieve work-life balance while creating your own results and building financial independence."
hong@heraldcorp.com
