Dead Links on the Korean Apple Store

Mac penetration in Korea is exceptionally low. Just today I had a new internet connection installed in my apartment and the ISP’s technician, who sets up private connections for a living and has likely dealt with thousands of PCs, had no idea how to open a browser window. It think it’s safe to say that this was the first time he’d ever laid eyes on a Mac.

The poor state of Korea’s online Apple store isn’t helping matters. As a Mac user living in Korea you can imagine that I’ve visited Apple’s online store more than a few times. More often than not during these visits I find that ‘Buy Now’ links for major products (including products featured on the http://www.apple.com/kr/ landing page) are either dead or redirect to the US store. In the below video you can see an example of both. It’s frustrating, to say the least.

4 Responses to Dead Links on the Korean Apple Store

  1. Ni
    March 11th, 2009 at 10:10 am

    Hi, I’m a Mac user in Korea. What about actual physical Apple Stores? Only COEX in Seoul, or is that even an official store?

  2. Peter
    March 12th, 2009 at 9:49 pm

    Hi Ni,

    The COEX store is as close to an authentic Apple store experience that you can currently get in Korea, but it isn’t a ‘real’ Apple store. My personal impression is that Apple is becoming more popular in Korea, and I base that largely on their much stronger presence at various resellers in the Youngsan electronics bazaar.

    This is extremely unfortunate, as I think that many Koreans, with their tech savvy and considerable fashion sense, would love a Mac. The burden is Apple’s to make their way into this market. Thus far, I haven’t seen much of an effort on their part.

  3. Mandy
    June 14th, 2009 at 9:43 am

    I am investigating the options of buying apple vs windows based notebook! I am not a designer by trade. I am a bit concerned about the internet techies being able to cope with an mac. Also what support do I have in Korea! Lastly, I do enjoy my odd games….not heavy into it though.

    Pls advise

  4. Peter
    June 14th, 2009 at 4:35 pm

    The new 13 inch MacBook Pros are excellent value. Any Mac telephone tech support in Korea is rerouted to Singapore or Australia. There’s service centers scattered around the country (primarily, though, in Seoul or Busan).

Think different?