H&M in Korea

Last Saturday afternoon, I went to Myung-Dong, the most popular area in Seoul, to go window shopping. I thought that I could visit the first H&M shop in Korea because it was exactly H&M's opening date.

I used to do shopping in the H&M when I was in Minnesota. Also, I could see many H&Ms when I traveled Norway because H&M was originally from Sweden.

So, I wasn't that excited about the first H&M shop in Korea. I was just curious about the different design of clothes because international clothing firms sometimes provide different style focused on people in different countries. For example, I wasn't a big fan of Forever 21 in America becuase clothes were too sexy for me, and size didn't fit for me well at that time. However, it became the place I should go when I went to Myung-Dong because they provided more cute and comfortable fashion than dressy and sexy clothes in Korea. Of course, I was so happy about the size which was just good for me. It was hard for me to find the appropriate size in other countries.

The H&M shop opened in the middle of Myung-Dong, and it was so crowded. Since it occupied 4 floors in a big shopping mall, I decided to take the second floor to get in. There was a guy in black in front of the second floor entrance, and he told me that I should use the first floor to use the shop. So, I went down, and there were a few guys with the same black suits too. They also told me that I could enter the shop only by going through the main entrance outside. I went outside to find the entrance, but then I realized that a long endless line around the shopping mall all waiting for being entered. So, I had no choice but to give up.

It would be hard to find another country as sensitive as Korea about fashion. In Korea, people have the ability of gathering fashion news, the patience of waiting to get in the newly open shop, and the economic plan for spending money for fashion by season. (It might depend on people though.) I guess that's why large clothing companies such as Zara, Mango, and H&M targeted Korea as a big market by increasing the number of shops and the size of the store. It doesn't seem that it would be decreased in a short while because FTA is waiting for its conclusion between EU countries and Korea in this year. Though it might be fatal for some Korean clothing companies, but I hope to see their stores in other countries soon too.