Assumptions
- Solo seller, monthly revenue under ~KRW 50M
- Domestic D2C or small B2B
- No offline store
Core
**Store**: Cafe24 or Imweb **Payments**: TossPayments + KakaoPay + NaverPay **Marketing**: Naver Search Ads + Stibee newsletter + KakaoTalk channel 알림톡 **CRM**: Channel.io **Analytics**: GA4 + Naver Analytics + Microsoft Clarity **AI/design**: Claude Pro + Miricanvas + Wrtn **Shipping**: Carrier APIs (CJ, Logen, Korea Post) via Cafe24 **Accounting/tax**: Samjeomsam or tax accountant
Monthly cost
- Cafe24/Imweb: free–KRW 30–50k/month
- TossPayments: fees only (2.9%)
- Naver ads: ad spend only
- Stibee free–KRW 10–30k/month
- Channel.io free–
- Claude Pro $20
Fixed ~KRW 100k+ plus variable ad spend.
Korean e-commerce tips
- Naver Shopping integration is mandatory
- KakaoTalk 알림톡 for order/shipping notifications
- Product reviews drive 80% of conversion
- Check SMB/individual-business benefits (소상공인 확인서)
Pitfalls
- Starting on Shopify: Korean PG integration painful, worse fees
- VAT filing without a tax accountant: quarterly hell
- Ignoring Naver: 80% of domestic search traffic is Naver
Solo sellers: Cafe24 + Naver Ads + KakaoTalk. That's the reality.