The Opening Of Seoul Fashion Week Is Causing Trouble For South Korea.

"The last four or five months are really chaotic."

Executive director Jung Kuho admitted: "everyone is concerned about the political and economic dynamics, no one wants to spend money.

When faced with such a huge uncertainty, you will not want to buy luxury goods.

Seoul is one of the most important luxury goods markets in the world. Its entertainment industry dominates the Asian culture circle. The beauty brand has global influence. The fashion week is also on the international fashion agenda.

But with the advent of the new fashion week, editors, buyers and street stars will once again gather in Seoul. This season's light will be obscured by serious political and economic turmoil.

In October last year, in South Korea, a huge corruption scandal led to indignation and took to the streets to protest. Finally, when the president of the Republic of Korea (Park Geun-hye) was impeached from office, he was temporarily put to rest.

Today, there are signs of Park Geun hye supporters' protests and other unstable domestic situations, and the diplomatic crisis between China and South Korea is rekindled.

One of the consequences of these crises is that the security situation "deters" domestic and foreign shoppers.

According to Bain & Company, sales of luxury goods in Seoul amounted to $7 billion 600 million last year.

As far as this data is concerned, the sale of luxury goods in a single city in Seoul is not far from the total sales volume of luxury goods in the Middle East (around $8 billion 700 million).

So obviously, Seoul is very important.

However, according to Global Blue, in January alone, Seoul's tourism retail sales showed a notable decline of 19% over the same period. In January and February, there was a 15% year-on-year decline.

Earlier this month, the price of cosmetics and tourism companies plummeted in Seoul. According to the January Baidu Index, the growth rate of Korean cosmetics brand in the Chinese market was 25% lower than that in the January.

In early March, the first part of the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, or Thaad, "Sade", aimed at deterring the DPRK threat, was first pported to the USA. Air Force Base (Osan Air Base).

The Chinese government strongly opposed this, which seems to be related to the radar detection range of the Sade system. Deploying the system or detecting China's missile system will give the United States the advantage in any potential conflict.

Since the formal launch of the scheme, the Chinese government has passed the plan.

Economic pressure is needed to respond to this military threat.

Dozens of Lotte International supermarkets across China have been ordered to suspend business for fire safety problems; Chinese tour groups have stopped visiting South Korea; Chinese TV programs have restricted the popularity of Korean pop music; Korean electric license has been frozen; and 19 kinds of Korean cosmetics are not allowed to be imported to China because of fuzzy quality problems.

"How China's domestic political climate is heating up, only people in China can feel it," said Inhae Yeo, director of Oikonomos fashion consulting. "But on the Korean side, there has been media coverage and report that the Chinese government has banned large tour groups from going to Korea." Lv Renhai said.

China has pformed the popularity of Korean products in China into a way to ignite domestic anti Korean sentiment.

Since 2010, the "Korean wave" has begun to overwhelm the Chinese market and help to push it forward.

To the lipstick, from singers to actors, and so on all the popularity of Korean things.

But now, due to the restrictions on the import of Korea, the media and ordinary Chinese people have to take a stand against boycott of Korean goods in the name of patriotism.

The sale of luxury goods in Seoul alone is not far from the overall sales of luxury goods in the Middle East.

This is the most important issue before Seoul, because China is Korea's largest trading partner, with an export volume of US $142 billion in 2014 and an annual sales of cultural and creative products up to US $5 billion 300 million.

It is not difficult to understand that the Korean fashion and beauty industry is increasingly relying on China to contribute to sales, and Chinese tourists continue to fly to Seoul mainly to buy Korea and other international luxury goods.

"At present, all walks of life in South Korea, not only the beauty and fashion industry, are still being influenced by China's tough measures," said Julia Juyeon Kang, editor in chief of the Korean Edition of Elle. "Experts say whether the situation will continue depends on our next new government, because negotiations between China and the United States need the government to complete."

Jung, executive director of fashion week in Seoul, agrees: "I do not think that these indicators will rise before the presidential election in May, and I hope that the situation will return to normal."

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