PR Manager - Korea
About the role
At Blue Bottle, our mission is to connect the world to delicious coffee. From seed to cup, we elevate the craft of coffee in everything we do. We strive to build a better tomorrow by investing in what matters: a sustainable future for our people, the company, and our planet.
About the job
Blue Bottle Coffee Korea is seeking a PR Manager to lead external communications and help strengthen the brand’s distinctive brand presence and long-term equity in Korea. This role owns earned media strategy, media relations, corporate communications, issues management, and the development of clear, credible brand narratives for external audiences. In addition, the PR manager plays an important role in shaping how Blue Bottle’s coffee, craft, design, cafes, people and culture are understood and experienced in Korea.
You will serve as a trusted communications and brand partner to the Brand Director and cross-functional leaders, ensuring that Blue Bottle communicates with consistency, cultural relevance, accuracy, aesthetic sensitivity, and sincere hospitality.
For product launches, seasonal campaigns, cafe openings, collaborations, and events, the PR Manager leads the communications and earned-media workstream within the integrated go-to-market plan, with a focus on building enduring brand reputation and relevance rather than short-term visibility alone.
This position is based in Seoul and reports to the Brand Director, Korea.
You will
PR Strategy and Earned Media
Develop and execute an annual PR and communications strategy aligned with Korea’s brand priorities, reputation goals, and key business moments.
Lead PR planning and earned-media execution for product launches, seasonal campaigns, cafe openings, collaborations, and brand initiatives, while maintaining an ongoing rhythm of meaningful media outreach beyond major launches, including leadership interviews and corporate stories.
Build trusted relationships with leading lifestyle, business, food and beverage, culture, design and relevant media, and secure leadership interviews, company growth stories, and other corporate visibility opportunities.
Identify distinctive editorial angles that deepen understanding of Blue Bottle’s coffee, craft, people, cafes, design, and culture.
Brand Narrative and Cultural Relevance
Develop compelling narratives around Blue Bottle’s coffee expertise, craftsmanship, sourcing, design, people, cafes, and hospitality.
Translate global brand narrative into locally relevant stories that connect meaningfully with Korean culture while remaining distinctly Blue Bottle.
Partner closely with GTM, Social with PR leading earned media and corporate reputation, GTM leading integrated activation, and Social leading owned channels and creator content; ownership of shared KOL activities is agreed based on its primary objective.
Prioritize quality, credibility, cultural relevance, and long-term brand value over short-term visibility alone.
Corporate Communications and Reputation
Monitor the external environment and brand sentiment, identify potential issues early, and conduct reputation reviews for sensitive launches, partnerships, or business topics before they become public.
Identify issues early, including pre-launch reputation reviews and spokesperson preparation for sensitive matters.
Develop corporate, community, and leadership topics, ensuring that claims are substantiated and appropriate for the Korean market.
Partnerships, Creators, and Brand experiences
Advise on collaborations, cultural initiatives and creator partnerships from a brand, reputation, and storytelling perspective.
Build meaningful relationships with journalists, craters, tastemakers, and cultural partners aligned with Blue Bottle’s values and aesthetic standards.
Lead PR-driven media experiences such as cafe visits, coffee education sessions, and seasonal product or partnership showcases, with strong press materials and editorial follow-up.
Lead press previews, media briefings, interviews, tastings, and communications programs connected to campaigns, cafe openings and partnerships.
Communications Governance, Agency and Measurement
Create and maintain key messages, press releases, media Q&A, fact sheets, briefing documents, and other external communications materials in Korean and English.
Ensure localization, fact accuracy, terminology, approvals, and brand consistency across external communications, with releases driven by genuine news value rather than communications cadence alone.
Lead PR agency performance and manage the communications budget.
Track earned-media quality, share of voice, message pull-through, sentiment, cultural relevance, and issue-response effectiveness, translating results into practical recommendations.
Provide concise communications updates and post-campaign PR reviews to the Brand Director and relevant local and global stakeholders.
You are
A strategic communications leader who combines sound judgment with hands-on execution.
A brand-minded storytelling who understands that reputation is built over time through consistency, quality and relevance.
A strong writer and editor with a sharp instinct for what is credible, relevant, and newsworthy.
A thoughtful relationship builder who earns trust with journalists, agencies, key opinion leaders, and cross-functional teams.
Highly sensitive to tone, design, detail, culture, and hospitality.
Comfortable forming a clear point of view and protecting brand quality even when faced with short-term commercial pressure.
Highly organized and comfortable managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
Calm, precise, and responsive when issues are sensitive or time-critical.
You have
8+ years of professional experience in public relations, corporate communications, media relations, or brand management; experience in premium lifestyle, hospitality, food and beverage, retail, design or culture-led brand is preferred.
A proven track of developing communications strategies and securing high-quality earned media with measurable results.
Strong knowledge of the Korean media landscape and established relationships across relevant sectors.
Demonstrated experience in issues management, crisis communications, executive communications, and agency leadership.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills in Korean and English, with strong stakeholder management, ownership, and attention to detail.
Passion for coffee, people, culture, and sincere hospitality.