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The rise of ‘Shy Japan’ shoppers: how Koreans skirt boycott of firms like Uniqlo and Muji
- Amid a trade spat between Tokyo and Seoul, a popular boycott of Japanese goods poses a dilemma for fans of brands like Uniqlo and Muji
- ‘Shy Japan’ shoppers pretend to support the boycott while getting their fix another way – even if it means flying to Tokyo for a T-shirt
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Kim Sung-jin was once a regular customer at his local Uniqlo store in Seoul, South Korea.
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The office worker likes the fit and style of the retailer’s T-shirts, but in recent months a popular boycott of Japanese goods has made him feel pressure to stay away.
Rather than be seen in local shops, Kim has taken his affinity for the brand a step further and secretly books trips to Japan at least once a month. “I went to Uniqlo in Tokyo and bought a T-shirt ,” he said of his most recent trip. “Buying Japanese products in Korea is not socially acceptable, so it’s not easy to shop at home.”
While Kim does not share photos of his trips on social media, or tell colleagues about them, he is more open with family and friends. “I tell them I hate the Japanese government, but I don’t hate Japan.”
While flying abroad to buy such products may seem extreme, Kim is among a growing number of South Koreans – dubbed ‘Shy Japan’ shoppers in local media – who have taken to consuming Japanese goods and services in secret.
The phenomenon is being fuelled by an ongoing trade row between the two countries that has further soured an already difficult relationship in which animosities date back to Japan’s colonisation of the Korean peninsula in the early 20th century. In July, ties took a turn for the worse when Japan announced it would curb hi-tech exports to South Korea – a move seen by Seoul as retaliation for demands that a Japanese firm compensate Korean victims of forced wartime labour.
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