Thoughts on Korean Business by Don Southerton

By Don Southerton, Editor I've followed retail space rates in Seoul over the years. Interesting, Myeong-dong was once Seoul's Japanese settlement and shop area that reaches back to the 1890s. Today, it sports a wide range of western and Korean brands and shops. This Chosun Ilbo article compares the costs of Myeong-dong retail rental space with other major cities around the world. Store Rents in Myeong-dong Jump to 8th Highest Worldwide Store rents in the trendy Myeong-dong shopping district of central Seoul are the eighth most expensive in the world, according to a recent survey. Rents for retail space in Asia-Pacific's top shopping streets have surged over the past year as retailers and luxury brands open up new shops to cash in on the region's promising economic outlook. According to the survey of major shopping streets around the world by real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield released on Tuesday, the average annual rent in Myeong-dong is 4,844 euros ...

Over the years, I've enjoyed sharing significant Korean culture events. Chuseok is perhaps the most celebrated of the traditional holidays. 추석 Chuseok-Korean Thanksgiving Holiday Thanksgiving is a holiday celebrated all over the world at different times of the year and in different ways. For Koreans, the traditional Thanksgiving Holiday is called Chuseok. This year is falls on September 21-23. Celebrated for centuries as the lunar-based (fifteenth day of the 8th lunar month) Fall Harvest Festival, Chuseok is among the most important of Korean holidays, a day filled with family and tradition. Millions of Koreans travel to join their family and celebrate traditional customs of Chuseok, including ancestral memorial rituals, followed by a day of special foods and family-focused activity. One of the most popular of the traditional foods is song pyeon, which is a pine needle-flavored half moon-shaped rice cake. In Korea, during the days prior to the actually holiday, streets and stores ...