Everything we send is built from a feeling we fell in love with in Seoul, and a commitment to bring it to you honestly.
Hyunwoo Cho
Founder and CEO, bringing Korea closer since 2015Hyunwoo started Daebak with a small team, a shared room in Los Angeles, and one simple idea: Korea shouldn't feel so far away. What began as a weekend project between friends slowly grew into a company built on a single belief, that culture is best shared, not just sold.
Since moving the team back to Seoul in 2017, Hyunwoo has stayed close to the source: the streets, the makers, and the people behind every box Daebak sends. His approach has always been simple. Stay honest, stay close, and keep listening to the people on the other end of the package.
From a room in LA to the heart of Seoul, Daebak has spent a decade bringing the real Korea closer to you.
SnackFever
It started small, with a team, a room in LA, and one simple idea: bring Korea closer. We weren't chasing trends or hype. We just wanted to share something real, one snack box at a time, with anyone curious enough to try it.
Back to Seoul
We moved closer to the source. To do things right, we had to be where culture actually happens, not where it gets interpreted from a distance. Seoul became home again, and ever since, what we send has felt less like a product and more like a piece of the city itself.
The Daebak Box
Snacks alone weren't enough anymore, so we built something bigger. The Daebak Box brought together K-pop, K-beauty, K-drama, and everything in between, not curated for trends but for connection. It was never about what was popular. It was about what felt worth sharing.
The Daebak Shop
The world paused that year. Shipping slowed, costs rose, and you told us something important: you wanted more choice in what you received. So we opened the Daebak Shop, trading a little surprise for a little more control, while keeping everything just as Korean, just your way.
Opening Our World
You never just received a Daebak box. You helped shape it. We started listening more closely and building alongside you, through Collab Boxes, Themed Boxes, a magazine, and even Daebak Friends, so you could share what you loved and feel part of something bigger. It wasn't expansion so much as participation.
Content & Tourism Partnerships
What started as a simple snack box reached further than we ever expected. By partnering with Korean content creators and tourism boards across the country, we began delivering more than products. We started delivering real experiences, the kind that make Korea feel a little closer, no matter where you are.
The Hard Years
This part matters, so we want to be honest about it. The pandemic, rising costs, and a global shipping crisis put real pressure on every part of our business, and systems that had always worked started breaking under it. We poured in everything we had, every bit of savings and every loan we could take, but it still wasn't enough. Our team shrank from twenty people down to just one.
Behind the scenes, it became impossible to keep every promise we had made, so we made a difficult call: to pause, regroup, and face it head on. We were late, but we never disappeared, and we never stopped taking responsibility for getting it right.
Thank You For Growing With Us
We're still here, still learning, and still showing up for the people who have stuck with us through all of it. To everyone who has ordered, waited, shared a box with a friend, or simply believed in what we were building, thank you for helping Daebak thrive. Everything we've become, we owe to you.
고맙습니다, 진심으로.
“You've always been part of this story.”
With you, we achieve
A Message To The Daebak Fam
We know some of you are still waiting, and we haven't forgotten. We're not walking away from it. It's taking time, but we're working through every case, every box, and every concern for as long as it takes.
Hyunwoo Cho
CEO, Daebak