South Korea cozies up to China

SOUTH Korea’s economy has taken a beating due to Seoul’s frayed ties with Tokyo, and the South Korean pop culture craze in Japan has also lost some of its fizz since then South Korean President Lee Myung Bak visited the Takeshima islands in Shimane Prefecture in 2012.

Last year, 2.28 million Japanese tourists visited South Korea, a drop of 35% from 2012. Direct flights linking Japan and the tourist resort of Jeju Island will be discontinued in October, the first such suspension since a service from Osaka to Jeju was launched in 1981.