Alibaba-owned retail platform AliExpress has expanded its user base in South Korea by more than 150% in three years, reaching 2.9 million users as of April this year, according to data compiled by Forbes Korea. The Forbes report also highlighted that the company has seen significant reach among male consumers in their 30s and 40s, accounting for 14% and 17.2% of its customer base respectively. The report noted that the proportion of male users of AliExpress is 1.6% higher than that of female users, with the latter demographic dominating the consumer bases of local Korean e-commerce platforms such as Coupang and 11th Street. Alibaba’s global online retail platform recently selected famous actor Ma Dong-seok, known for his tough-guy characters and action movies, as its first brand ambassador amid further expansion in the country. [Forbes Korea, in Korean]