Why No South Korea?

Two of the most obvious non-Apple store locations are Hong Kong and South Korea. Of course, one of the biggest hurdles is finding the perfect location. But certainly there are other issues: politics, international finance, supply chain and local sales opportunities. And both of these locations definitely have their set of these issues. South Korea, in particular, is very unique. It's one of the major sources of electronics manufacturing, although Apple seems to obtain most of assembled products from China. Korea is generally a pro-U.S. country, but there have been huge protests recently over the Korean government's decision to begin importing American beef again, after a Mad Cow Disease scare. But the economy isn't expanding as rapidly as the 1990s, the division between wealthy and poor is increasing, and the use of part-time and contract workers is increasing. Lastly, competition from U.S. agricultural imports has put Korean producers in a bind. Looking at the potential market, there are tons of local suppliers for computers, mp3 players and cellular handsets. When you consider all this, South Korea doesn't look so attractive, and certainly doesn't seem to be worth the money and energy required to locate a store within the country.