Direct purchases from overseas by South Korean customers surpassed the 2 trillion-won (US$1.46 billion) mark for the first time ever in the second quarter of 2024, data showed Thursday. The total value of online direct buying from overseas advanced 25.6 percent on-year to 2.15 trillion won in the April-June period, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It marked the largest quarterly figure ever since 2014, when the agency began compiling relevant data. The growth was attributable to the marked increase in buying from China on the back of the popularity of China-based e-commerce platforms, such as AliExpress and Temu, among customers here. The value of transactions with Chinese sellers soared 64.8 percent on-year to 1.24 trillion won. Direct buying from China accounted for 61.4 percent of the overall direct overseas purchases by South Korean consumers in the second quarter, which was the largest proportion ever. The United States came next with 424.9 billion won in the second quarter by falling 9 .2 percent on-year. The U.S. took up 21.1 percent of the total. Direct selling in overseas markets by South Korean vendors fell 6.7 percent on-year to 448.9 billion won in the April-June period. It marked the first quarterly decline since the second quarter of 2023. Meanwhile, online shopping sales in South Korea rose 8.6 percent on-year to reach 60.73 trillion won in the second quarter. The growth was led by rising demand for food and beverages, as well as travel and transportation services, in particular. In June alone, the value of online shopping transactions climbed 7.8 percent on-year to 20.68 trillion won. Purchases made through smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices increased 10.2 percent on-year to 14.96 trillion won in June. Mobile gadget-based shopping accounted for 74.5 percent of the total online sales in June, the data showed. Source: Yonhap News Agency