Customers wait outside a Chagee milk tea store at Yongsan I'Park Mall in Seoul, June 9. Korea Times photo by Baek Byung-yeul
On a recent afternoon in Seoul's Yongsan I'Park Mall, dozens of customers lined up to get drinks from Chinese tea chain Chagee. Inside the same mall, shoppers still browsed shelves stocked with Labubu, the quirky collectible dolls that sparked a buying frenzy among young consumers last year.
The scene highlights a notable shift in Korea's consumer landscape. While anti-China sentiment frequently surfaces in political and diplomatic discussions, Chinese food, toys, travel destinations and lifestyle brands are becoming increasingly familiar parts of everyday life for Korean consumers.
Industry experts say the trend is being driven less by changing consumer preferences in an era where social media, travel and global cultural exchanges increasingly shape purchasing decisions.
Children in Korea grow up eating malatang, a spicy Chinese noodle soup dish, and tanghulu, a traditional Chinese snack made of sugar-coated fruit skewers.
