A social media post from a Taiwanese woman living in South Korea has gone viral for revealing an unlikely item on her wish list from home: boxes of Taiwan's soft, pull-type facial tissue.
In a post on Threads, the woman wrote that whenever friends or co-workers ask what she needs from Taiwan, her answer is always the same: pull-type tissue, the kind designed to pop up one sheet at a time from a soft pack. One colleague on a business trip once filled a suitcase with 20 packs of Kirkland-brand tissue, the private label sold by Costco, as a gift.
The post struck a chord with Taiwanese living and studying overseas, drawing comments from people scattered across Asia, Europe and North America. Even South Koreans who once studied in Taiwan chimed in, saying their own families now ask them to bring back Taiwanese tissue whenever they visit.
Overseas Users Say Foreign Tissue Falls Short
Commenters who have lived in South Korea said tissue sold there tends to be thinner and sheds more lint than Taiwanese brands. "Korean tissue is mostly sold in rolls, and even the pull-type packs tear apart on the first try," one person wrote. Another described handing a single pack of Taiwanese tissue to a Korean friend as a gift and immediately regretting giving it away.
People who moved to Japan or the West described similar frustrations. Tissue in Japan, several commenters wrote, tends to be thin and less absorbent, while stores in Europe and the United States mostly stock toilet paper rolls or boxed tissues that cost more and are less convenient to pack. One commenter said an unscented, extra-soft line made for sensitive skin by a Taiwanese brand has become a staple in her luggage no matter where she travels, calling it gentle enough to use "without a second thought."
Taiwan Invented The World's First Pull Type Tissue
The attachment traces back to Taiwan's own manufacturing history. In the 1980s, local tissue makers noticed that the flat, stacked paper common at the time was awkward to pull out sheet by sheet. Working with domestic equipment manufacturers, they developed what is widely credited as the world's first pull-type, or pop-up, facial tissue, changing how households across Taiwan handled everyday paper goods.
Fierce competition among Taiwanese tissue brands in the decades since has pushed manufacturers to keep refining softness and durability, raising the bar for what local consumers expect. That history helps explain why Taiwanese who move abroad often find the product surprisingly hard to replace, and why one simple request for tissue paper was enough to turn into a viral moment far from home.
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