“We are seeing more tourists from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan visiting the market to buy fresh meat. The other day, a Chinese tourist greeted me, “It’s been a long time,” saying she couldn’t come in the past few years because of the covid-19 pandemic.”
It was Friday afternoon on May 3, just past lunchtime, when Ms. A, who works at her family’s beef butcher shop in Majang Meat Market, mentioned that she has seen an influx of Chinese tourists in the past few years. Majang Meat Market is known among locals as one of the best places to buy fresh meat in Seoul. Nearly 60% of all meat and meat by-products distributed in Seoul are estimated to pass through this market.
“I once asked them why they come to Majang Meat Market, and they all answered it was because they can buy high-quality beef at affordable prices,” said Ms. A. “They told me it’s cheaper to come to Korea for ‘beef tourism’ than to buy beef in their own countries.”
Majang Meat Market in the afternoon is generally quiet following the departure of the lunchtime crowd. The few visitors were mostly Chinese tourists, accounting for about 90% of the visitors. Chinese tourists moved around the market in groups, snapping photos and eagerly listening to butchers explain how to choose beef.
Mr. Lee, a 53-year-old butcher shop owner in the market, also noted the recent uptick in Chinese tourists. “The number of Chinese tourists increased to pre-pandemic levels,” he said. Mr. Lee recently hired English-speaking staff to serve Chinese tourists better.
Majang Meat Market’s popularity among Chinese tourists is attributed to the influence of local social media platforms. Searching for Majang-dong (馬場洞) and Korean beef, also known as hanwoo (韓牛), on the Chinese video site BiliBili yields multiple videos showcasing Majang Meat Market. Chinese social media Weibo contains numerous posts related to Majang Meat Market.
“Majang Meat Market has always been a popular tourist destination among Chinese people,” said a Chinese woman visiting the market after lunchtime. “You can find many reviews about the market on social media and blogs.”
Korean BBQ restaurants near the market are also seeing a boost from the return of Chinese tourists. “We used to serve only locals, but now we receive about five to ten groups of Chinese tourists a day,” said Mr. Pyo, the owner of a hanwoo restaurant about a 15-minute walk from the market.
The number of Chinese tourists visiting Korea, which had fallen to 201,000 last year, surpassed one million in the first quarter of this year, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The ministry expects over 80,000 Chinese tourists to visit Korea between April 27 and May 6, during China’s Labor Day holiday.
