Criticism has increased in South Korea after Japanese AV star Yuna Ogura was overcharged for a hat made in China at Daegu’s Seomun Market. This has sparked discussions on social media about potential exploitation of foreigners in traditional markets.
Social media and online communities were flooded with posts titled ‘AV actress scammed at Daegu market’, referring to a video posted by Ogura on her YouTube channel on Feb. 19. In the video, she talked about her first visit to a Korean traditional market.
Ogura is a popular AV actress in Korea who gained high popularity last year when a video featuring her and Korean singer Tak Jae-hun received 11 million views on YouTube. She was awarded the ‘EMN Entertainment Award’ at the ‘31st Korea Culture and Entertainment Awards’ for her works.
In this video, Ogura visited Seomun Market in Daegu. After exploring the market, Ogura wanted to buy a hat and went to a shop.
When she looked for a fur hat with cat ears, the shopkeeper recommended a colorful hat and handed it to her. After trying on the hat, Ogura liked it, saying it was “Osaka-style”. “It’s a hat made of real mink fur,” the shopkeeper explained.
Ogura showed interest in the hat and asked about its price. However, Ogura was surprised and upset by the shopkeeper’s answer of “200,000 won($150),” and the shopkeeper started haggling, asking, “Then how much will you pay?” “50,000 won($38),” Ogura said, but the shopkeeper replied, “150,000 won($112),” to which Ogura again lowered the price to 130,000 won($97). The shopkeeper repeatedly asked for 150,000 won, but Ogura didn’t have enough cash, so the hat was sold for 130,000 won.
The man who was helping Ogura shoot the video asked, “Is this real mink?” to which the store owner replied, “Yes, it is real mink.” However, upon closer inspection, Ogura noticed a ‘Made in China’ tag on the hat, indicating that the store had lied to her.
The video ended with Ogura wearing a hat and smiling happily, with a caption suggesting that she was satisfied with her purchase despite the high price.
After the video went viral, some online users questioned whether the market vendor overcharged Ogura, taking advantage of her being a foreigner.
They found the hat’s price of $150 excessive and suspicious, especially given that the price quickly dropped after some bargaining. Some netizens even found the same hat available on an e-commerce platform for around $30, which led to a conclusion that the final price of $97.5 was too high.
It’s not uncommon for foreign tourists visiting Korea to get ripped-off. There have been continuous controversies at Gwangjang Market, a popular destination for foreigners, due to overcharging. .
In some instances, foreign visitors have reported that Panfried food, also known as ‘Jeon’, is priced at 15,000 won ($11.25) rather too high for its quality. Even worse, many pointed out that the amount of the food wasn’t sufficient when considering the price.
Additionally, some vendors have been criticized for refusing card payments and preferring cash payments to avoid taxes. To address these issues, Seoul City plans to introduce a ‘Mystery Shopper’ system to monitor the self-regulation efforts of merchant associations within the city.