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	Korea Organic South Korea · Tier 1 Gold	JAS Organic Japan · Tier 1 Gold	? 'Natural' (NOT a certification) Worldwide · Tier 4 Marketing
What it means	South Korea's national organic mark under MAFRA (Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs). Required on any food sold as 유기농 in Korea.	Japan's national organic standard under the Japanese Agricultural Standard system. The mark must appear on any food sold as 'organic' (有機 or オーガニック) in Japan.	The word 'natural' on packaging is a marketing term, not a certification. In most jurisdictions there's no legal definition, no standard, and no inspection. A product labelled 'natural' can contain synthetic ingredients, pesticides, GMOs, and artificial flavours.
Scope	Food	Food	Several categories
Established	2001	2001	—
Inspection	Annual on-site by MAFRA-accredited certifier	Annual on-site by MAFF-registered certifier	None
Residue testing	Required	Required for high-risk operations	None
Guarantees	≥95% organic ingredients. No synthetic pesticides, no GMOs. Annual on-site inspection by a MAFRA-accredited certifier.	≥95% organic ingredients. No synthetic pesticides, no synthetic fertilizers, no GMOs. Annual inspection by a MAFF-registered certifier.	Nothing. It is not a certification and there is no body verifying anything.
Does NOT	Cosmetics and textiles are covered under separate Korean schemes, not this mark.	Mutual recognition with the US, EU, and Canada applies to specific product categories — check each agreement before importing.	Doesn't mean organic. Doesn't mean pesticide-free. Doesn't mean GMO-free. Doesn't mean ethically produced. Some markets (e.g. the US FDA on food, EU on cosmetics) place very limited restrictions on the word, but enforcement is weak.

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