The owner of a handmade candle workshop in Jeju Island, who was the first to knock on the consultation room door, didn't even have an Instagram account. “Social media is difficult for me,” she said. “It feels even more daunting, especially when I think about foreign customers seeing it.” She explained that while she was confident in the candles she had carefully crafted with her fingertips, she always took a step back when it came to sharing their story with the world.
When I first sat down with Mrs. Lauren, the concern the owner shared was simple. “I can handle domestic customers, but I have absolutely no idea how to approach people from abroad.” She mentioned that even when she used a translator, only awkward sentences came out, and she was even afraid to add a single hashtag. That is how she had been putting off creating an account for several months.
Change 1. A bilingual profile crosses the first hurdle
The first thing we did together was complete a single line for the Instagram profile. We wrote a short English sentence alongside the Korean introduction and clearly indicated the workshop's location and shipping areas. It wasn't a grandiose copy, but a simple line like "Handmade candles from Jeju, shipping worldwide," yet the owner laughed and said, "I don't know why it took so long to write just this one line." On the day the profile was finished, they switched the account to 'public' for the first time.
Change 2. Hashtags: Direction Over Numbers
Next was hashtags. Instead of blindly copying and pasting popular hashtags, we organized a guide on how to mix English and Korean hashtags around the three pillars of Jeju, candles, and handmade. After consistently repeating a few tags like #jejucandle and #handmadeinkorea, the first comment came from a foreign follower after just two months. The owner reportedly took a screenshot of that comment and showed it off in their family group chat.
Change 3. The dreaded DM, three lines of courage prepared in advance
The biggest hurdle was direct messages (DMs) from foreign customers. “I didn’t know how to reply, so I couldn’t even open the notifications.” Mrs. Lauren prepared short English response templates in advance for three common questions—delivery time, payment methods, and fragrance descriptions. She assured them that it was okay even if the sentences weren’t perfect. Once the templates were available, the owner no longer avoided DM notifications.
Now, three months later, this workshop account is filled with review photos sent from Canada and Singapore. While not all sales come from overseas, the very experience of “my products reaching across the ocean” has given the owner great confidence.
What Mrs. Lauren always emphasizes is taking 'one step' rather than grandiose strategies. Because what is needed before perfect English or a sophisticated feed is the courage to start and the small tools to support that courage.
Many people are unable to even get started due to the weight of the term "global marketing." Mrs. Lauren works to lower that barrier. A single line in a profile, three hashtags, three lines in a reply template—we build together step by step, starting from these small units.
To the business owners out there today who are hesitating, saying, “I don’t know how to use social media,” I hope the story of this workshop gives you a little courage. Mrs. Lauren is always right by your first step.