A market in Tokyo and another one in Yokohama, both based on Seoul's Dongdaemun market, a collection of popular South Korean fashion shops, have published a guidebook for shoppers.
Dongdaemun market in Seoul is said to comprise 30,000 shops -- including major shopping centers and stalls -- which draw many Japanese shoppers to South Korea.
The market inspired a similar collection of shops in Tokyo's Shibuya district in September 2000 and in Yokohama the following March.
Business has been booming at both locations, which together have around 70 shops. The two markets made 2 billion yen in the past year and the Yokohama market alone receives about 5,000 visitors per day.
"We published the guide so people can learn about fashion and quality in South Korea," said an official in charge of publishing the guidebook. "We would like to transmit youth culture, including movies and the arts."
The popularity of the shops and the publication of the guidebook are examples of the strong economic and cultural ties between Japan and South Korea amid recent diplomatic tensions over the history of Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
The 112-page guidebook sells for 680 yen and introduces hot spots and popular items in the Shibuya and Yokohama markets.
The guidebook also includes examples of youth fashion and culture in both nations.