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SEOUL - JAPANESE tourists armed with a strong yen are flocking to South Korea for shopping sprees, according to data on Tuesday.
The Korea National Tourism Organisation said the number of Japanese visitors rose 4.7 per cent year-on-year to 202,229 in September. The visitor figure for August was 193,045.
The agency attributed the increase to the rise of the yen against the Korean won, which has been Asia's worst performing major currency this year.
JoongAng Ilbo newspaper said Japanese tourists could fly to South Korea up to 70 per cent more cheaply than a year earlier.
The upmarket Lotte Department Store in Seoul said the number of Japanese tourists seeking tax refunds for items purchased there was up 35 per cent year-on-year in September, the paper reported.
Apart from bargain-priced luxury items, the store's food aisles are also crowded with Japanese eager to buy kimchi and jeotgal (salted fish).
'More than 90 per cent of kimchi and jeotgal sales come from Japanese,' store buyer Hwang Jae Yeon was quoted as saying. Lotte has even posted an interpreter in the basement where the food shops are clustered.
Local duty-free shops, travel agencies, air carriers and the Korea National Tourism Organisation are actively promoting trips to Korea with newspaper advertisments.
The Japan Association of Travel Agents says a total of 1,659,062 Japanese visited South Korea for the first nine months to September, 13 per cent up from the same period last year.
One hundred yen bought 1,268 won as of Monday - compared to around 850 won in November last year. -- AFP
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