Functional Transformation of Korean Businesses in the Okubo District, Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, from the Viewpoint of Business Owners' Ethnic Strategy

Abstract

With a drastic increase in the immigrant population since the 1980s, ethnic enclaves have appeared in the inner cities of Japan. In particular, the Okubo district, a transitional zone located close to Kabukicho, the biggest entertainment and red-light district in Shinjuku ward, has emerged as a prominent ethnic enclave in Tokyo, with a highly concentrated foreign resident population and clustered ethnic businesses. This study examines the roles of Korean business in transforming the district by analyzing Korean entrepreneurs' ethnic strategies in the Okubo Koreatown. Owing to a massive influx of Korean newcomers in the 1990s, Korean businesses located on Shokuan Street near Kabukicho to offer goods and services to recently arrived Korean residents. This research found that since the mid-2000s, Korean entrepreneurs have diversified their types of business into various restaurants, retail shops specializing in Korean television drama and K-pop star merchandise and low-priced cosmetic shops, expanding their businesses to the main Okubo Street where Japanese local markets previously existed. This transformation of Korean businesses was caused mainly by the explosive increase in the Japanese customer base with the current ‘Korean Wave' (growing popularity in Korea and its culture) occurring in Japan. Korean business in the Okubo district was therefore accelerated not only by co-ethnic and local demand but also by the cultural demand within the host society. Korean businesses cater to the host society by providing ethnic goods and services to its citizens to fulfill the demand for pop culture paraphernalia.