ORIENT TRADE

What ORIENT TRADE does

ORIENT TRADE is a privately held South Korean commission-based trading agent founded on April 19, 2010, and headquartered in Mapo-gu, Seoul. The firm connects foreign suppliers and manufacturers with the South Korean market, functioning as an intermediary and "navigator" for companies seeking to enter or expand within Korea. Its service scope is intentionally broad and spans food, beverage, meat, construction materials, chemicals, and energy products, with the company explicitly stating that it assesses each opportunity based on marketability in Korea rather than being limited to a specific category.

The company's two documented service offerings are Trading Agent Services (commission-based import representation, with optional stock-and-resale when needed) and Expert Marketing Guidance (strategic market entry intelligence for foreign businesses). The firm operates on a transaction-fee revenue model with no publicly disclosed pricing, no proprietary technology product, no app or API surface, and no digital channels beyond its marketing website. Business inquiries are routed through a contact form and a single email address.

Operationally, ORIENT TRADE is structured as a small firm (1-10 employees) with no external funding, no disclosed parent company, no management team bios, no certifications, no patents, no awards, and no social media presence. Beyond its original trading setup, the company established a Department of Software in May 2011 and a Department of Export in October 2011, indicating historical intent to diversify into software distribution and outbound export facilitation, although no follow-on evidence of either initiative is present in the source data. The business is privately held with Korean tax registration (127-47-13178), operating solely within South Korea's domestic geography for client engagement.

Name

ORIENT TRADE

Legal name

ORIENT TRADE

Website

https://orient-trade.co.kr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ORIENT TRADE is a privately held South Korean commission-based trading agent that connects foreign suppliers and manufacturers with the South Korean market across food, beverage, meat, construction materials, chemicals, and energy product categories, serving as a market-entry intermediary for overseas companies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Import/Export Trading Services

NAICS

Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers (42512), Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers (425)

SIC

Wholesale-Chemicals & Allied Products (5160), Commodity Contracts Brokers & Dealers (6221)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAHAHAG

Global Trade & Customs / Trade Compliance

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/Operations & Supply Chain Consulting

SECONDARYAFAIAKAL

Import/Export & Cross-Border Food Commodity Trading

Agriculture & Food Production/Food Distribution & Wholesale/Food Ingredients & Commodities Trading/Wholesale

Keywords

• Import trading agency
• Commission-based brokerage
• Korea market entry
• Cross-border trade services
• International business consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Giheung

HQ country

South Korea

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Commission-based Trading Agent: ORIENT TRADE primarily operates as a commission-based agent for importing goods. When importing, they prefer a commission-based agent model and also maintain sales with stock when needed. They handle various product categories including food, beverage, meat, construction materials, chemicals, and energy products.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

ORIENT TRADE operates as a commission-based import agent and trading intermediary connecting foreign suppliers and manufacturers with the South Korean market. They facilitate trade across multiple product categories including food, beverage, meat, construction materials, chemicals, and energy products. The company also provides strategic marketing guidance and market-entry consultation for foreign companies expanding into Korea.

Product overview

ORIENT TRADE operates as a commission-based trading agent and business intermediary, not a technology product company. The company serves as a bridge connecting global suppliers with buyers in South Korea, offering two core service offerings: (1) Trading Agent Services for import facilitation across food, beverage, construction, chemicals, and energy sectors, and (2) Expert Marketing Guidance providing strategic intelligence for market entry. The business model emphasizes being a "navigator" and "compass" for clients seeking expansion into the Korean market rather than a technology platform or SaaS product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Trading Agent Services Commission-based import agent services connecting global suppliers and manufacturers with the South Korean market, covering product categories including food, beverage, meat, construction materials, chemicals, and energy. Stock-based sales are also available when needed.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• LG International: Korean trading arm of LG Group handling imports/exports in petrochemicals, energy, metals, and consumer goods. Compares to ORIENT TRADE on the import-agent business model for foreign suppliers entering Korea, but is a much larger, diversified chaebol affiliate.
• Hyundai Corporation: Korean general trading company (chaebol-affiliated sogo shosha) handling imports/exports across steel, machinery, chemicals, and energy. Comparable to ORIENT TRADE as it operates in the same cross-border trade intermediation space for Korea, but at vastly greater scale and across many more categories.
• Mitsui & Co. One of Japan's largest sogo shosha with extensive food, chemicals, energy, and infrastructure trading operations in Korea and globally. Overlaps with ORIENT TRADE's cross-border intermediation model across multiple product categories, but at vastly larger scale.
• POSCO International: Major Korean trading company (formerly Daewoo International) active in agri-commodities, energy, chemicals, and steel trading with global supplier networks. Overlaps with ORIENT TRADE on cross-border import intermediation for Korea, especially in food/agri and industrial materials, but operates at institutional scale.
• Hanwha Corporation: Korean conglomerate with a trading division handling chemicals, defense, and machinery imports/exports. Relevant as a broader Korean trade intermediary that competes with ORIENT TRADE for foreign-supplier mandates, though it operates at conglomerate scale.
• Itochu Corporation: Major Japanese general trading company with broad involvement in food, chemicals, energy, and construction materials trading into Asian markets. Comparable business model of intermediating foreign suppliers into East Asian markets, though ITOCHU operates at much greater scale and capital base.
• Marubeni Corporation: Japanese sogo shosha with global trading across grains, food, chemicals, and energy. Comparable to ORIENT TRADE as an established cross-border trade intermediary serving East Asian markets, but at significantly larger scale with institutional infrastructure.
• Samsung C&T Corporation: Trading and construction arm of Samsung Group, active in trading of chemicals, energy, steel, and industrial materials. Comparable as a Korean import/export trading house, but with vastly broader resources, balance sheet, and global counterparty access.

Emerging players

• Alibaba.com: Global B2B cross-border marketplace connecting suppliers (including Korean-relevant categories such as food, chemicals, and construction materials) with international buyers. Threatens traditional trading-agent models like ORIENT TRADE by digitizing supplier-buyer matching, though it is platform-based rather than relationship-driven.

Others

• KOTRA (Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency): Korean government agency facilitating foreign companies' market entry into Korea — directly overlaps with ORIENT TRADE's stated mission of being a 'business navigator' for foreign suppliers entering the Korean market, though as a public-sector organization it is not a commercial competitor.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights4 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/orient419
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/orient-trade

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ORIENT TRADE