What is Seoul shopping hub’s secret sauce? Tourists’ love of K-dramas and K-pop
- Myeong-dong in Seoul is flourishing again with the return of foreign travellers, with many citing their love of K-dramas and K-pop as reasons to visit the area
- Tourists have accounted for 73 per cent of sales at the Myeong-dong stores of CJ Olive Young, Korea’s largest drug store franchise, this month
By Lee Hae-rin
Myeong-dong, the iconic shopping and tourism district in South Korea’s capital Seoul, is flourishing again with the return of foreign travellers, driven by their love for Korean culture, dramas and cosmetics.
Kai Diaz, a 26-year-old American, said in Myeong-dong that she had made a list during the pandemic of things she wanted to do based on her favourite Korean drama and YouTube, Facebook and TikTok channels.
A “huge K-drama fan”, Diaz said her favourite Korean series triggered her interest in K-beauty and prompted her to look for skincare products to take home on the last day of her five-day visit.
“There’s not a lot of good ones back where I am from [Nevada, in the United States]. Even if there was, it’s either too expensive or you have to order it online,” she said, adding that she would return to Korea to explore more of its culture and visit areas beyond the capital, such as Busan and Jeju Island.