(LEAD) Pharmaceutical firms expect stronger sales during China's Labor Day holiday

(ATTN: CORRECTS dateline)

SEOUL, April 28 (Yonhap) -- South Korean pharmaceutical companies are strengthening their promotions to sell more of their mainstay products to incoming Chinese tourists during China's Labor Day holiday, industry sources said Thursday.

Local pharmaceutical firms such as Handok and Kyung Nam Pharm Co. have rolled up their sleeves to attract as many Chinese tourists as possible during the three-day national holiday that starts on April 30, they said.

Handok has supplied more of its Ready Q product for relieving hangovers in major outlets in Myeongdong, central Seoul. The mango-flavored product became popular among Chinese people after it recently debuted in a cable TV program in China.

In Myeongdong shops, Handok saw sales of Ready Q jump 158 percent in February from a month earlier and 452 percent in March, a company spokesman said.

Kyung Nam Pharm expects robust sales of its Lemona C vitamin powder as it carries the face of movie star Kim Soo-hyun on it. Kim is best known as "the man from the star" among Chinese fans due to the popular TV series "My Love from the Star" that aired in 2013.

Sales have been rising since 2014, when the face of the 29-year-old Hallyu star appeared on the packet of the vitamin product, a Kyung Nam spokesman said.

As Hallyu, or the Korean Wave, has gained bigger popularity recently helped by Korean cultural products including K-pop and TV series, local companies have increased efforts to relate their products to the trend to boost sales.

kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr
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