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SEOUL -- The total purchase of foreign goods by South Korea's "Jikgoo" consumers who shop directly through foreign shopping malls instead of middlemen at home hit a record high of 2.1 billion US dollars last year, official data showed Tuesday, reflecting a gradual change in the habit of young tech-savvy consumers.
Jikgoo (direct purchase in Korean), which means buying straight from sellers, has settled as a new shopping habit among South Koreans who are familiar with smart devices and internet. Jikgoo Tribe is a term used to describe smart consumers who shop directly from foreign online malls such as Amazon, eBay and Alibaba.
The Korean Customs Service (KCS) said in a statement Tuesday that the number of Jikgoo imports last year rose 35.6 percent on-year to 23.5 million while the total amount of Jikgoo imports increased 29.1 percent on-year to 2.1 billion US dollars.
KCS figures showed that foreign shopping events such as the American "Black Friday" and China's "Singles' Day" have attracted many Korean smart consumers along with the distribution of Jikgoo know-hows and weak US and Japanese currencies.
South Korea's Jikgoo consumers showed a diversified trend, visiting Chinese and Japanese mall more frequently than before as the share of American malls fell sharply. China has become the second favorite Jikgoo market with its share rising from 11 percent in 2016 to 17 percent last year.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
