Inside Ralph Lauren’s Seoul Shift

How South Korea gave Polo Ralph Lauren a feel its own heritage differently.

A decade in Seoul has done something to Polo Ralph Lauren. The stitching stays the same — but the spirit softens.

Ralph Lauren just completed ten years of its Polo flagship store in Seoul, and the brand celebrated it with cultural grace like no one else. It was quiet, yet symbolic. PRL is well known for its warm and inviting brand image, and its contribution to the upliftment of South Korean culture speaks volumes about its values.

Over the decade, PRL has been quietly making ripples through the Korean market. It has become more than just a luxury brand — it’s a part of the culture now. Through initiatives spread across art, lifestyle, and community, it has become a movement — one that speaks to people through shared aesthetics and lived experiences.

PRL made sure their presence never felt forced. Their initiatives didn’t feel business, they depict understanding. Belonging. Made sure to include all walks of life to their community.

1.     Culture and Lifestyle:

• The brand’s first footprint was in 2014, its flagship store in Garosu-gil, Seoul. Located in the Dosan Park area, PRL became one of the first few luxury stores in the area, helping shape the neighbourhood’s reputation as a high-end shopping district.

• Launch of Ralph’s Coffee — the café proves to be an entry to the brand by more aspirants and youth of the country. It provides an accessible yet curated and high-end aesthetic experience for all. It serves as a social space for socialising while also aligning with the cultural value of image and the need for elegant spaces outside the home. The café taps into the concept of “Sohwakhaeng” or “small but certain happiness,” providing an affordable yet pretty escape from the modern world’s stresses.

  

• Continuing with the flagship store, PRL just celebrated its 10th anniversary event in Seoul this September. The theme was to deepen the connection and revitalise the trendy Garosu-gil street with American heritage and local artistry. PRL showcased and supported local talent by collaborating with Ivy-style artists like Aron Chang, who rethought the American classics with a twist of Korean aesthetics, solidifying the status of the street as an artistic hub. This gave the public a chance to engage with art and fashion in a fun yet elegant way, adding a new layer of cultural depth to PRL among the country’s people. The event reflected that the brand wants belonging, not just sales.

2.     Social Responsibility and Connections:

• PRL hasn’t restricted itself to entertainment concepts. It understands and supports social well-being too.  With the Pink Pony Campaign, along with the support of celebrity actress and singer Krystal Jung; PRL has proved its humanitarian approach. This campaign was launched to promote cancer awareness and  fundraisings, highlighting the struggles and resilience of the survivors community. As a supporter of breast cancer prevention awareness, Krystal Jung was featured in the campaign to share her personal reflections and help inspire the public about the impact. This promotes a proactive approach to health in Korean culture, and highlights the power of community support.

• Since 2021, PRL has shown continuous support to local artists and creatives; collaborating with them to create wonder pieces. From stylists like Han Hee-Jae, photographers like Kim Hee-Jun, to illustrators like Jung Hyun-Jung, PRL has leveraged their interpretations of American codes through Korean lens, to bring out authenticity to the brand; reflecting appreciation of culture.

• PRL has been working with the campaign “Family Is Who You Love” annually, with its branches in South Korea since 2020. The first local adaptation featured the known faces, Dae Na and Nam Bora with a story that reflected subtle emotions in families and the valued closeness in the culture. Over the years, the visuals evolved, the stories more personal- but the sentiment behind it stayed the same.

3.     Modern Identity and Retail Innovation

• PRL showed that it recognizes South Korea’s potential by opening its first-ever Women’s concept store in Seoul, in March 2025. Known as “Sounds Hannam”, this store reflects that PRL not only has faith in the Korean market, but also a taste for the cultural creative there. The Female population in Korea has long been setting the pace of fashion influence, and PRL celebrates it now.

How PRL Impacted the Korean Market

From all the mentioned initiatives and campaigns, it’s safe to say that PRL has acknowledged and accepted South Korea as a part of its world. But have these decisions truly impacted the people there? Let’s find out.

1) By being more locally sensible, PRL has managed to revive the American fashion style in a softer way. Balancing Western heritage with Korean minimalism, it has elegantly resonated with the public.

2) By showcasing and supporting local artistry, PRL has given new visibility to Korean art in the global market. This exchange nurtures a new generation of consumers who engage with fashion through a Korean lens.

3) Through its cafés and pop-ups, PRL has managed to attract younger and more price-sensitive clientele. This shows that luxury can very well coexist with approachability — one could call it quiet loyalty.

4) Their steady presence and continuous initiatives have encouraged local brands to utilize their skills and innovate to reach broader audiences.

5) In the midst of Korea’s fast-fashion trends, PRL seems to promote slow retail values like quality, longevity, emotion, and heritage storytelling. It can be a good time to re-think, and prioritize emotional connections over turnovers and profits.

How The Korean Market Impacted The Brand

All these points are valid, sure. But what good does it do for them? It can’t be just a selfless deed, right? Here’s how I think it benefitted the brand too:

1) The market became a high-performing environment for PRL to test new formats, product mixes, concepts, and designs before scaling them globally.

2) PRL gained quick and concise consumer insights from Korea’s fast and digitally savvy audience, which helped it improvise, adapt, forecast, and communicate rapidly across cultures.

3) Korea, being one of the most relevant markets in Asia today, has strengthened PRL’s positioning in the continent as a brand capable of carrying heritage with innovation.

4) The consistency across all distribution channels in the country, and the success of localized strategies, have enhanced the brand’s perception significantly within the Asian market.

Things To Look Out For

Keeping aside all the logical benefits and events, there’s still a lot of questions arising:

1) How “inspired” are the pieces in the collections, really? Collaborations — sure; but do they truly reflect Korean culture, or do they still sit under an American shadow?

2) As claimed, is Korean heritage and fashion truly “revived” through these initiatives, or simply diluted under a globalized lens?

3) Are K-pop idols partnered to connect with their fandoms and expand reach, or just for social media visibility?

4) Are feedback and local sentiments genuinely considered, or merely observed from a distance?

5) Lastly, what’s the ultimate goal for PRL? How does the brand plan to move forward — to Americanize Korean trends, or to bring them at par with America’s, on Korea’s own cultural terms?

It looks like Korea has become a farmhouse for PRL — a place it visits to relax and rekindle with itself. PRL seems to be learning legacy in a new language here.

Looking forward to seeing how the brand continues to grow in this farmhouse!

~Hiyaa