Okubo, located near Shinjuku, is now the synonymous of Korean Town. The Koreans started settling down when this area was burned down during the WWII. In 1950, Lotte, a Korean confectionery company, opened its factory in Okubo, and certainly encouraged the expansion of the Korean population in this area. However, it was only a decade ago when their culture became popular in Japan. The Japanese started enjoying other cultures spontaneously, and as a result, there are now people from some other cultures settling in Okubo. Finally, in 2003, Korean Wave reached Japan. When it was aired on TV in the end of the year, Winter Sonata, a Korean TV drama, turned to be a big hit, especially among middle-aged women. Since then, the Korean culture has been widely popular among the Japanese.


The shops in the eastern part of Okubo, particularly the east of the Okubo station, are mostly Korean. In the west, you can find shops from other countries, mostly from China. There are Korean grocery shops, CD and DVD stores, and other Korean shops and services. The grocery shops sell both Korean and Japanese stuff. Some of them even open for 24 hours. While many shopkeepers understand both Korean and Japanese languages, there seem to be a few who do not understand Japanese at all. Influenced by the Korean wave, the CD and DVD shops also sell a lot of collectibles of the Korean actors such as Bae Yong Joon and Park Yong-ha who became popular for Winter Sonata. They sell from cups or key rings to socks and even soap with the actor’s face printed. At those shops, you can see middle-aged women shopping around, and even taking pictures.