- Against Background of Rising Popularity of Small Group Wedding Rites Full of Individuality and Increasing Numbers of Overseas Travelers –

Watabe Wedding Corporation based in Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, which operates at about 40 locations in the world, established Watabe Korea Co., Ltd., on April 3, 2019. The wholly owned subsidiary, set up in Seoul with a capital of 300 million won, will provide marriage ceremony services, sell wedding dresses and engage in other operations. It is the Japanese company’s first foray into the South Korean wedding service market.

(Photo: https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M105458/201904035021/_prw_PI1fl_q6sTvEqR.png)

The mainstream wedding style in South Korea has traditionally been a gorgeous and grand one held at a wedding hall or hotel inviting a large number of guests, but in recent years, the wedding style that is free from formality and attaches importance to individuality of the bridal couple, such as a cozy “small wedding” held by a small group, has been gaining popularity quite rapidly -- a trend sparked in part by popular entertainers. Furthermore, the number of South Koreans traveling overseas has been on the rise, with about 55% of the country’s population of approximately 51.64 million (*1) traveling abroad in 2018 (*2). Behind this trend is the fact that low-cost carrier (LCC) flights have been increased and the scope of visa exemptions has been expanded, among other factors. The number of South Koreans traveling overseas has doubled over the last 10 years (*3). As for the destinations of such travelers -- as far as the areas in which Watabe Wedding handles wedding products are concerned -- Hawaii is the No.1 popular honeymoon destination and the Vietnamese city of Da Nang ranks fourth among popular sightseeing cities, while Guam ranks high among popular destinations for both honeymoon and sightseeing. (*4) (*5)

Responding to the above-mentioned market trend in South Korea in recent years, Watabe Wedding, which has helped more than 600,000 couples have their weddings, established its subsidiary in the East Asian country to meet potential demand for overseas resort wedding services and pursue the possibility of such business. Following the subsidiary establishment, Watabe Wedding is to open a shop in the Gangnam District, a trendsetting area in South Korea, to develop and sell wedding products and attire services suited for the taste of South Korean customers for marriage ceremonies in Hawaii, Guam, Da Nang and Okinawa.

Watabe Wedding will continue to aim at further expanding the resort wedding market in Asia.

Sources:

*1: Korea National Statistical Office “Social Indicators in 2018”

(http://kostat.go.kr/portal/korea/kor_nw/1/6/1/index.board?bmode=read&aSeq=373801)

*2: Korea Tourism Organization “Statistics on major destinations for overseas travelers”

(http://kto.visitkorea.or.kr/kor/notice/data/statis/profit/board/view.kto?id=430985&instanceId=294)

*3: Korea Tourism Organization “Korea Tourism Statistics”

*4: MODE TOUR “Honeymoon Best 10 in first half of 2017”

(https://m.post.naver.com/viewer/postView.nhn?volumeNo=7808944&memberNo=522648)

*5: HotelsCombined “Ranking of popular cities for travelers in the first half of 2018"

(http://blog.hotelscombined.co.kr/221318373326)

Overview of the South Korean subsidiary:

Company name: Watabe Korea Co., Ltd.

Representative: Hirokazu Kogishi

Business content: Overseas wedding services, sales of wedding-related attire, general tour business (in Japan and abroad), consulting and other intermediary services

Location: 5F, 142 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea

Capital: 300 million won (about 30 million yen)

Equity ownership: 100% owned by Watabe Wedding Corporation

Established: April 3 (Wed.), 2019

Official website: https://www.watabe-wedding.co.jp/company/en/

https://www.watabe-wedding.co.kr (scheduled to be launched by the end of April)