Dragging empty suitcases and clutching fistfuls of yen, hordes of Japanese shoppers are arriving in South Korea everyday now. Theyre jumping on the chance to take advantage of a strong yen and a weak won which is making everything a bargain.
The Japanese currency is now up over 90 percent against the won compared to the end of 2007, with 100 yen equal to about 1,500 won. The yen has also soared to 13-year highs against the U.S. dollar.
And Japanese shoppers are shrugging off the ongoing economic crisis to stock up on everything from designer brands to everyday items.
Seoul's Myeong-dong, the central shopping district of the capital is teeming with Japanese on shopping sprees. Some stores even have ads in Japanese and Japanese-speaking employees to help customers.
[Erika Ikeba, Japanese Shopper]:
"It's cheap to travel here and the yen is strong, so I plan to buy a lot of cosmetics.
Wary local shoppers have discouraged sales at major department stores and luxury goods outlets. But now these high-end retailers are offering discounts of up to 70 percent to entice Japanese shoppers who arrive by the bus-load.
[Aoki Nakamura, Japanese Shopper]:
"The yen is so strong now and the won is cheap, so I think this means there are a lot of Japanese going to Korea. There are so many Japanese here, it doesn't feel like we're in Korea.
The Yeoju Premium Outlet, the biggest luxury goods outlet in the country said the number of Japanese shoppers has leapt by 85 percent from October of last year.
Businesses big and small hope that Japan's newly-expanded purchasing power will continue to prop up South Korea's struggling tourism and retail business in the months to come.
Tags: ntd japan "south korea" shopping currency economy
