Northface brand too popular in Korea?

They said...

The Brand name clothing "Northface" has grasped the attention of many people in South Korea. The teenage population of Korea is going on a rampage in order to obtain this clothing for themselves. There are reports of groups of teens who would target individuals wearing these "Northface" clothing. This phenonmenon, which doesn't seem to occur anywhere else other than Korea, is an interesting way in which consumerism drives individuals.


In Korea, almost every single teenagers are seen wearing "Northface" clothing during the winter times. Despite, the fact that the costs of these Northface winter clothing are priced signifcantly higher than those of North America (something that would cost us in Canada for $250 may go up to $400 in Korea). The Northface brand has become so popular till the point that there are rankings given to individuals wearing different "price points" of the clothing.

For example, wearing a coat that is most common to get and which is priced lower than others would fit you into the category of "chi jill e" (which can mean "lame" "geek" "of low status" "losers"). Thus, there are reports of school bullying occuring to individuals who do not possess these clothing. Also, people are treated differently according to the "rank" of the Northface clothing that they wear. Therefore, these "ranks" have caused teens who cannot afford the clothing into resorting to robbery as their solution.

Not only is this an issue, but parents have reported issues in providing their children with these clothing that are pulling them back financially. Considering the fact that the average salary range within Korea is significantly less than those of North America, the impact that these expensive clothing has upon their lives increases. Thus, parents knowing the fact that their children's self esteem is dependent upon possessing these clothing will sacrifice hard earned income into purchasing these clothing.

Hopefully this issue will be resolved with the increase in awareness that media has brought to the Korean population.