courtesy: Bernama.com and Yonhap News Agency 25/10/10
The Malaysian News Agency Bernama.com reports that Chinese tourists are switching their shopping destination to South Korea and away from Japan due to the growth in the popular culture called "The Korean Wave".
"We came here because of the Korean Wave," said Xiao Yongqiang, one of two Chinese guides leading the group of 17 tourists from Guangdong on China's southern coast. "We want to see, experience and buy everything that's in Korean dramas."
The popularity of Korean pop culture and entertainment, called the Korean Wave, and a strong yuan have been traditionally cited as a major magnet for Chinese tourists, but now there seems to be a new political factor in play.
Some Chinese tourists have canceled trips to Japan and instead headed to Korea since a diplomatic row in September inflamed anti-Japanese sentiment in China.
In that incident, Japan arrested a Chinese fishing boat captain after his vessel collided with Japanese coast guard boats in waters around an island group that both countries claim as their territory. Mass rallies and a boycott of Japanese goods ensued in China.
Stores in shopping districts like Myeongdong have added Chinese-speaking staff and glitzy arrivals duty-free stores are dropping European luxury brands to give more space to Korean cosmetics chains that are less expensive but more popular in the Asian region.
Nature Republic is one such cosmetics brand riding on made-in-Korea appeal in China. Its latest promotion pitch features members of the now-dissolved Korean boy band TVXQ, whose popularity is still invincible across China and Southeast Asia.
Arrivals duty free stores are not yet available in Korean airports, but there has been a recent submission by a Politcal party to change this status.
是的。允许抵达时购买免税商品。Duty Free Arrivals shopping ....
http://www.dutyfreeonarrival.com/zh/home
