Korean otaku turn aprons up at 'moe' warm, fuzzy feelings

[Anchorman]

Japan and South Korea are at it again. This time, though, the traditional rivals aren't fighting seriously, but they are competing to see who can have the most effective otaku culture, according to Weekly Playboy (5/21).

Anime, manga, cosplay and maid cafes have become as popular in parts of Seoul as they are in Tokyo's geek capital of Akihabara, but that doesn't necessarily mean the Koreans have matched the accomplishments of the original Japanese otaku.

In fact, there are considerable differences between the geek culture of both countries, with the Koreans not adapting to the concept of moe - the Japanese otaku's buzzword for whatever turns them on, but which has a decidedly "warm fuzzy" feeling about it.

Perhaps that's why Korea's only maid caf? shut its doors just eight months after opening.

"There's still a concept close to moe in Korean otaku culture. There's a word 'haakku,' which means to get excited, or feel good. But this word doesn't really apply to the gaming or cosplay worlds here, yet it does apply to kinky stuff," Korean adult entertainment world expert Chan Nan Woo from Jake Media tells Weekly Playboy. "In Korea, Lolicon is outlawed and maid cafes were a flop."

Korea doesn't have the swimsuit pin-up idols prominent among Japan's otaku. It's difficult for the Koreans to understand the concept of moe.

"Korean sex services are straight shooters. They tell you what you can do and that's what you pay for," Chan says. "For Koreans, it's a totally foreign concept to sit with a pretty woman all night and get nothing other than small talk like in Japanese nightclubs, or the maid clubs where you're not allowed to touch the women at all. There's no way these places would ever become popular."

There are many Japanese otaku who shun real women because they find them "scary" or "difficult" compared to virtual reality girls, but again Korean otaku find such an idea hard to comprehend. Thanks perhaps to compulsory military service, few young Korean men have not experienced women in some way and when it comes to relieving sexual frustration, no punches are pulled.

But while Korean otaku are going for the full throttle approach, Japan's attraction to vagueness continues. Nowhere is that more evident than in the thriving maid industry.

"Maid cafes have continued to be popular even after the Train Man otaku boom subsided. Maid cafes that did really well are already thinking about opening new outlets or getting big companies to invest in their expansion," Harukomugi, operator of the Maid Caf? Go website, tells Weekly Playboy. "And with competition between the cafes getting fiercer all the time, there's now a greater onus on the maids providing increasing high quality service."

Harukomugi adds that the maid caf? boom in Japan is even striking female otaku.

"There are currently about 20 maid cafes in the Tokyo area. These have increased particularly in the Ikebukuro district. For women otaku, there are butler cafes and cafes where female waiting staff cross-dress so they look like men. All sorts of different places are opening up for female otaku. Add these in and there are 40 outlets alone targeting otaku. Add in things like maid massage parlors and the like and you're looking at upward of 100 businesses catering exclusively to otaku maid fantasies and their ilk," Harukomugi says.

What this all means as far as business goes for otaku culture in Japan and South Korea remains something of a mystery.

"In some ways, the otaku industry is a bit of a black hole," economist Takuro Morinaga tells Weekly Playboy. "It's really hard to calculate just how much the otaku industry really brings in to the mainstream economy." (By Ryann Connell)