The amount of direct purchasing of foreign goods by South Korean consumers topped two billion dollars for the first time last year, posting a new high. 

According to the Korea Customs Service on Tuesday, the number of such purchases stood at nearly 23-point-six million last year, up more than 35 percent from the previous year. 

By value, such purchases amounted to two-point-one billion dollars, up 29 percent from 2016. The growth exceeded the 27 percent average posted for the past five years. 

The customs agency attributed the surge to better prices resulting from falling exchange rates and diverse discount events, including the U.S.’ Black Friday sales.

The U.S. remained the number one destination for direct purchases from overseas. But its share has been narrowing from 73 percent in 2015 to 56 percent last year. Seventeen percent of goods were from China followed by Europe and Japan.