About — Korean Friends (KF Group) | Korea's Fashion-Tech Company

WHAT WE DO

Fashion and technology,
two axes.

Korean Friends runs on two axes — fashion manufacturing & brands and apparel IoT & AI R&D. Making garments, and extending them with technology, all in one company.

Fashion

Fashion — manufacturing & brands

A smart factory that adds digital production to 40 years of sewing expertise. Our own brands present ‘MADE IN PREMIUM KOREA’ to the world.

+82 FactorySmart sewing production · OEM·ODM for major retailers
+82 GalleryOur own fashion brand · MADE IN PREMIUM KOREA
+82 House · Design · GlobalLogistics & fulfillment · custom printing · digital trade
WHATEVER82Trend-led uniform brand (launched 2023)

R&D · Tech

R&D — apparel IoT & AI

Turning clothing into an IoT device. The fashion-tech brand X³ and a fashion AI engine, built on the idea of ‘dressing garments in knowledge.’

RFID-XAn apparel semiconductor sensor — waterproof, dustproof, heat-resistant
FAI-X · +82FAIFashion-data AI engine · styling & retail analytics
GALLERY-XTechwear with an ‘invisible computer’ built in

OUR STORY

A journey that began in New York

Around CEO Jang Junseong, who studied fashion marketing in New York, members from entertainment, distribution, content and e-commerce came together under the name ‘Hallyu.’ In 2010 we started as a Hallyu marketing company in Japan.

In 2014 we incorporated Koreanfriends Co., Ltd. in Korea and grew through cosmetics exports to the Middle East. The 2020 Trade Day Minister’s Award and the $1M Export Tower are milestones from that era.

From 2021 — building our smart factory and launching +82GALLERY — we moved toward becoming a fashion-tech company. Today we run apparel manufacturing (smart factory), our own fashion brands, apparel RFID sensors and fashion AI under one roof.

HISTORY

The Korean Friends journey

2010
Japan entity establishedStarted as a Hallyu marketing company
2014
Koreanfriends Co., Ltd. incorporatedOperations begin in Korea
2016
First export to DubaiEntering the Middle East
2017
First KBP SUPERLIVE heldSecond export to Dubai
2018
Selected as a Global Youth StartupNamed platform operator for the Seoul Jung-gu Fashion Support Center
2019
Seoul Fashion Week GN consortiumKHIDI overseas-promotion booth program operator
2020
Venture certification · $1M Export TowerReceived the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Award
2021
Smart factory built · +82GALLERY launched+82 SEASON launched · manufacturing supply to The Met, New York · Seoul Top-4 Future Growth Company · $3M Export Tower
2022
Hi Seoul Company certification$7M Export Tower (KITA)
2023
Selected for the national brand ‘Brand K’Uniform brand WHATEVER82 launched · KRW 2bn tech-innovation R&D grant
2024
$15M exclusive supply to Saudi ArabiaCORE 100 selected (Invest Seoul) · Legend 50+ fashion manufacturing
2025
Gallery-X³ Tech launchedSelected for the SME R&D robotics track