REGIONAL> Tianjin
Koreans return to Tianjin as economy recovers

Updated: 2009-10-12 16:53

Tianjin's real estate market is warming up as more and more Koreans who left Tianjin for home during the financial crisis have started to come back since May of this year. "The number of Korean clients who come here lately for inquiries doubled compared to that of the end of last year," a manager surnamed Tian with Zhongyuan Real Estate's Aocheng branch said.

Aocheng and Meijiang in Tianjin's Hexi District are large communities where thousands of South Koreans live. Most restaurants and shops there have both Chinese and Korean names.

But after last year's financial crisis broke out, many Koreans living in the area returned to South Korea. The Korean won against the yuan depreciated over 24 percent from last June to November and living costs soared.

Things are different now as Tianjin's economy is growing robustly. The municipality’s GDP has grown 16.2 percent in the first half of this year, the fastest in China, according to the Tianjin Statistics Bureau.

"My friends in South Korea have started to come back to Tianjin since May this year. My company has been picking up as the global economy is bottoming out and the Korean won has started appreciation," a man surnamed Kim, a Korean working in Tianjin, said.

Kim just moved to a well-decorated four-bedroom apartment last week. He changed his three-bedroom apartment in Aocheng community to a two-bedroom one at the end of last year to cut living costs.

"My company pays me more subsidies than last year, so I can afford a more comfortable apartment," he added.

By Guo Changdong