Abstract
AbstractThis study examines commercial signs in arguably the two most visited tourism districts in Seoul, namely Myeongdong and Insadong. It focuses on beauty and food businesses and analyzes featured languages and their content and roles in signage. This article argues that business types, specialized marketing focus, and intended sales pitch influence business owners’ linguistic choices. The findings of the study suggest that the beauty industry relies heavily on English in general, but the power of K‐Beauty popularized by ‘Hallyu’ (The Korean Wave) beyond Korea inevitably invites linguistic accommodation in the form of using Chinese and Japanese. In general, the business category of beauty features a more prevalent use of English than the gastronomic business in this study. Moreover, as an area specializing in traditions and cultural heritage, Insadong shows more signs exclusively in Korean than in Myeongdong.
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