Transformation in Ikuno Koreatown, Osaka under the Contemporary Korean Wave (Hallyu)

Although numerous studies have focused on ethnic precincts as a resource of urban tourism and area valorization, little attention has been paid to the global aspects of ethnic cultures in such places. This paper aims to clarify the transformation in Koreatown in Osaka under the global trend of the Korean wave, or Hallyu, and the deteriorating political relationship between Japan and Korea. The following findings were obtained based on the field and questionnaire surveys. First, the newly opened stores are different from the existing ones regarding the kinds of products being sold. While the former sell Korean cosmetics or takeaway foods popular in contemporary Korea to tourists, the latter sell traditional Ko-rean foods or goods. The former type of store also emerges in the area adjacent to Koreatown due to the shortage of space for rent in the precinct. Especially in Koreatown, the land price or rent has drastically increased because of the growing number of newly opened stores, and its effect has expanded beyond the original ethnic precinct. Second, the preference of tourists, especially young females, for contemporary Korean cultures is based on social media or internet platforms. They favor the products offered by newly opened stores that are popular in such media and tend to upload photographs of those products to social media. They have little interest in the political problems surrounding Korea and Japan or the history of Koreatown concerning migrants from colonized Korea and their descendants. However, a con-siderable number of young tourists desire to learn about such problems or history. Third, we should note the two aspects of the values of the ethnic precinct: economic and social. While the influx of tourists causes problems related to overcrowding, existing storekeepers recognize that the present situation can develop the attractiveness of Koreatown as a whole. They also attempt to prepare facilities like public lavatories to increase tourist satisfaction. In contrast, shopkeepers do not actively engage in the promotion of social values that can contribute to mutual understanding in a multicultural society. This is because such values have been inevitably connected to circumstances such as historical discrimination in Japan or political rivalry derived from the division of the Korean Peninsula. However, these two types of values make Koreatown special and attractive in their respective ways, and each is an essen-tial component of the uniqueness of the precinct. Thus, we should observe whether the authenticity of tourist experiences in Koreatown will enable not only the valorization of the precinct but also an enhanced understanding of ethnic diversity and the Japan-Korea relationship in the future.