'K-Culture Boom' Drives Popularity of Accessories and Goods
Shops Promoted on Social Media Gain Attention
Recovery to Pre-COVID-19 Levels
"These days, about 300 to 400 foreigners come every day on average."
Recently, the streets of Myeongdong have been bustling with foreigners, leaving no space to step. Merchants called foreigners "unnie" and solicited customers, while tourists' hands were full of shopping bags.
On the afternoon of the 19th, Ryu (30), who works at a nail tip shop in Myeongdong, Jung-gu, Seoul, said, "I heard that nail tips are trending among foreigners, so I opened the shop in May last year," adding, "Japanese and European customers are the main clientele, and they show a lot of interest in flashy nails."
Riding the wave of the K-culture boom, many foreigners wanted to buy various accessories, K-pop goods, and Korean fashion brand clothes. A large accessory store, densely packed with earrings, bags, keyrings, and other miscellaneous goods on every wall, attracted the interest of foreign tourists. Some Japanese tourists wore hats placed in compartments on the wall or carried bags while shouting "kawaii."
The food stalls around Myeongdong were filled with smoke, and foreigners shopped holding small gimbap or egg bread in one hand. Elisa (19), a German tourist looking at the album display at a K-pop store, said, "It's nice to browse because the shops are close together," and added, "I like NCT and Pentagon, so I came in."
Especially, many people visited Myeongdong after seeing it on social media (SNS). Hikari Yamauchi (21), a Japanese tourist, said, "There are no nail tip shops like those in Korea in Japan, so I found this place through Instagram," adding, "I also plan to visit the large accessory store right next door." Teodora (26) from Romania said, "I'm traveling with two friends in Korea and came here after seeing TikTok," adding, "Actually, I stopped by Myeongdong on the first day of the trip to buy game character goods, so I bought character goods before coming to this shop." Maria (68) from Australia said, "I came in because the walls were covered with items," and added, "I plan to buy a hairpin for my granddaughter and a coin purse for my husband."
Tourists visiting Korea Daiso, known for its cost-effectiveness (performance relative to price), were also noticeable. Honoka (20) from Japan said, "There are more cute Jjangu products here than in Japan," adding, "This place is perfect for shopping because there are many cheap and cute items." She showed several pens and bandages she planned to buy and said, "Later, I plan to check out Matengkim clothes, which are popular among Japanese university students."
In the past, there were many Chinese tourists in Myeongdong, but now the number of visitors from Japan, Southeast Asia, and Europe has increased. Hwang Seong-woon (68), who sells hats, said, "It seems there are more Southeast Asians than Chinese now," adding, "A few days ago, young people from Thailand bought hats with 'heoldae-bak' written on them, finding them fascinating, and also bought them as gifts." Kang Jin-mo (79), who runs a snack bar, said, "It seems that young Japanese and Europeans have increased more than family groups."
There is also an analysis that the Myeongdong commercial district has recovered to pre-COVID-19 levels. According to the '2024 Q4 Retail Market Report' by real estate consulting firm Cushman & Wakefield, Myeongdong's vacancy rate decreased by 5 percentage points year-on-year to 4.4%, the lowest among all commercial districts in Seoul. According to the Korea Tourism Data Lab, foreign tourist spending in Myeongdong in January this year was 29.7227 billion KRW, surpassing 23 billion KRW in December 2019. In October last year, it recorded the highest amount in five years at 49.32342 billion KRW. Among foreign tourist spending, 44.8% corresponds to shopping businesses.
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