Korean department stores and duty free shops are riding a boom in visitors from China. Until last year, the strong yen meant the biggest foreign customers were Japanese, but the strengthening yuan means that Chinese tourists are emerging as a new cash cow for Korean retailers.

In Korean department stores, the average per-capita spending by Chinese tourists is now 10 times higher than that of Japanese tourists. A Hyundai Department Store staffer said, "Japanese tourists tend to buy products in small quantities after checking all the information from ingredients to usage and functions. But Chinese tourists prefer high-end brands and buy without thinking about the price. More than 80 percent of Chinese customers buy products in large quantities at a time."

A Chinese tourist gets a tax refund after shopping at the main branch of Shinsegae Department Store in Seoul on Tuesday.

A Lotte Department Store spokesman agrees, saying Japanese customers usually buy handbags while Chinese tourists buy expensive goods like jewelry and watches.

Top-drawer Korean cosmetics brands are also benefiting from the Chinese boom. "Chinese people think that Korean women have a beautiful skin, so they believe the quality of Korean cosmetics products," one Chinese customer said. A cosmetics seller at Lotte Department Store said, "In most cases, Chinese customers visit the shop in groups of two or three and buy products worth W500,000 to W700,000 per head. By contrast, Japanese customers buy products worth W100,000 to W150,000 per head." (US$1=W1,161)

Lotte Department Store says that at its luxury Avenuel branch, sales to Japanese tourists have grown 40 percent this year while those to Chinese customers have surged 70 percent. Shinsegae Department Store reports that Japanese tourists accounted for 1 percent of its total sales in October, a plunge from 10 percent early this year. But Chinese customers' contribution grew from 1 percent to 5 percent during the same period.