Ms. Minseon Kim in her thirties recently bought her fifth luxury bag. Though people around her say that she spends too much given her average monthly wage of around 2.5 million won, she defends herself by saying, “I don’t live beyond my means compared to many men who own mid-sized cars with similar income to mine.” She is frugal in other areas. Unmarried and living alone, she seldom eats out, and mostly goes to the company cafeteria. “I manage funds thoroughly to save. Luxury bags are a reward for my effort,” said she.

The economic crisis transforms the consumer market fundamentally. In the past, mid-priced products mostly used by the middle-class were the mainstream in the market, but now such mid-end products give way to both low-end and high-end goods that emerge rapidly. The consumer market is changing from a “reverse U-type” into a “U-type.”