Editor’s Note
This article highlights the innovative approach of F.O.C.C. Co., Ltd., which blends cultural heritage with modern fragrance design. Its participation in a major international travel expo underscores the growing global interest in niche, story-driven brands and the role of startups in promoting regional tourism.
F.O.C.C. Co., Ltd. (CEO Kim Deok-young), the company operating the Korean niche perfume brand ‘Heroes of Korea’ which transforms Korean heroes into fragrances, participated in the 2025 Hong Kong International Travel Expo (ITE), which saw participation from 67 countries and regions. The company was selected as an Incheon tourism startup by the Incheon Tourism Organization.
Through this expo, Heroes of Korea signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with a partner company for a master distributor contract in Hong Kong, taking its first step into the local market. The brand is also developing products to boost regional tourism, including discussions for sales contracts in Hong Kong for ‘Kim Gu’, a perfume representing Incheon. Furthermore, the brand achieved significant results by planning to open pop-up stores in Hong Kong and establishing logistics and distribution hubs, thereby strengthening the global distribution foundation for K-Perfume.
Heroes of Korea reinterprets great Korean historical figures such as King Sejong, Shin Saimdang, and Admiral Yi Sun-sin into fragrances. It proposes a differentiated Korean lifestyle in the global market through storytelling and Korean-style packaging.
Meanwhile, Heroes of Korea is preparing for a pop-up store at the Tsutaya Bookstore Daikanyama store in Tokyo, Japan this October and plans to continue various activities to promote ‘Korean heroes remembered by fragrance’ in the global market.