【Seoul, South】Researcher Park Se-heon of Wolgok Jewelry Industry Research Institute: “Utilizing AI Will Determine Business Performance”

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Editor’s Note

This article highlights a keynote speech on the challenges and future of the Korean jewelry industry, delivered at the 2024 Jewelry Festa. It underscores a significant contraction in the domestic market while pointing to evolving consumer trends and potential pathways for growth.

박세헌 월곡주얼리산업연구소 선임 연구원이 '2024 주얼리 페스타'에서 'K-주얼리의 현재와 미래'를 주제로 기조 발제하고 있다. /류빈 기자
K-Jewelry’s Current State and Future Outlook

Researcher Park Se-heon of the Wolgok Jewelry Industry Research Institute delivered a keynote speech on ‘The Present and Future of K-Jewelry’ at the ‘2024 Jewelry Festa’ held at the Jeongdong 1928 Art Center Theater in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 11th.

“While the size of the domestic jewelry market has significantly decreased due to reduced private consumption, it is noteworthy that the imported jewelry market, preferred by higher-income brackets, has actually increased,” explained Researcher Park. “This data confirms that the perceived economic conditions differ markedly depending on income segment.”

According to Researcher Park, the size of the Korean jewelry market was recorded at KRW 7.7315 trillion, a 6.1% decrease compared to the previous survey. As of 2023, the domestic jewelry market size decreased by 11.4% to KRW 5.2569 trillion, while the imported jewelry market increased by 7.7% to KRW 2.4746 trillion.

In terms of market share, domestic jewelry held 68% and imported jewelry 32% of the total market, but in terms of growth potential, domestic was overshadowed by imports. Researcher Park pointed out, “The rise in gold prices has increased product selling prices and average order value, yet the market size has shrunk, meaning a clear decrease in sales volume.”

“When the general jewelry market contracts due to economic recessions like now, purchases of fashion jewelry sometimes increase as an alternative,” noted Researcher Park. “In the early stages of a domestic downturn, consumers may habitually seek substitute consumer goods, but if it prolongs, the likelihood of reducing consumption on jewelry itself also increases.”

The discussion continued on the impact of the private consumption crisis on the jewelry industry.

“In the current situation where a prolonged domestic downturn is expected, whether the fashion jewelry consumption trend will continue is unknown,” explained Researcher Park. “It could also be interpreted as cost-conscious consumers temporarily practicing frugal consumption by choosing fashion jewelry as an alternative to general jewelry.”
Three Key Themes for the Future

Researcher Park identified three themes the jewelry industry must consider for the future: overseas expansion, liquid consumption, and enhancing competitiveness using AI.

“If the domestic downturn deepens, the jewelry business must find a breakthrough and move beyond the thinking that only the domestic market and high-income segments are our demand channels,” he diagnosed. “Now is the time to actively target overseas markets, as the Korean brand is gaining prestige through ‘K-Culture’.”

Liquid consumption refers to consumption patterns that are not fixed, move frequently like liquid, and have very short trend cycles. Consumers with this tendency place high value on the purchasing experience but are characterized by weak loyalty to specific brands and strong environmental awareness.

“Unpredictable liquid consumption better explains the consumption patterns of fashion jewelry,” Researcher Park pointed out. “In the fashion jewelry market, which well reflects the characteristics of liquid consumption, it is difficult to create loyal customers, so one must quickly grasp trends and jump into a speed race.”
Enhancing Competitiveness with AI

Regarding strengthening AI competitiveness, he suggested, “If fashion jewelry brands, for which speed is crucial, can develop the capability to utilize this aspect to the maximum, productivity will definitely increase. From a jewelry business perspective, generative AI can be primarily used in concept planning, marketing and promotion, customer management, and product design development.”

He continued, “I believe generative AI will be most effectively applied in these two areas: ‘Marketing and Promotion’ and ‘Product Design Development’,” and introduced real cases produced together with CEO No So-dam of 1064 Studio and CEO Lee Soo-young of Grouping Media.

“The jewelry business will inevitably change in the AI era,” emphasized Researcher Park. “There will be a clear difference in efficiency and performance between jewelry businesses that utilize AI and those that do not. The era has arrived where prompt productivity creates a competitive difference.”
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⏰ Published on: January 13, 2025