Shopping in South Korea

"A man will never love you or treat you as well as a store. If a man doesn’t fit, you can’t exchange him seven days later for a gorgeous cashmere sweater. And a store always smells good. A store can awaken a lust for things you never even knew you needed. And when your fingers first grasp those shiny, new bags."

(с) Sophie Kinsella, Confessions of a Shopaholic

South Korean trade industry is pretty well developed. Many visitors come here with one small suitcase and leave the country with a couple extra pieces of luggage. Well, I can't say that prices here are very cheap, but still, some stuff is unique and cheaper than in other countries.

Souvenirs.

When you travel to the new country you would like to buy souvenirs. There is a traditional street Insa-dong(subway station Anguk, exit #6)in Seoul where you can take a look at some traditional and historical stuff and buy souvenirs. Actually, even the shop names and everything is written in Korean. Even well-known Starbucks is written in Korean. You can try Korean traditional teas, snacks, food etc. If you decide to buy something here you should bargain on price because many sellers try to sell their goods more expensive. Especially, to foreigners.

If you want to buy a souvenir for a lower price you can find it in Namdemun Market(subway station Hoehyeon station, exit #6). Here you can find not only souvenirs but also accessories, clothes, food, home stuff, in one word, everything! 

Clothes. Local and Foreign brands.

Clothes stores you can find almost on every street and underground. Street shopping is pretty developed here. Especially, in Kangnam district, Jamsil, Myeondong. The most famous department stores are Hyundai, Lotte, Shinsegae. Recently, Lotte opened a new shopping mall on Jamsil station. Actually, Jamsil district is one of the best shopping areas in Korea today. Here you can find everything... from cheap Chinese goods to luxury European brands. 

This mall is divided into 2 parts: Avenual and Lotter tower mall. Avenual is more luxury brands, and tower mall is an average one. In tower mall, you can find supermarket, oceanarium, cinema. If you cross the road you can visit the Lotte Hotel (a new hotel is on the side in newly built Sky Seoul tower), amusement park Lotteworld. I call this district mini-Lottecity.

Meyoung-dong district. (subway station Meyoung dong, exit #6, orEuljiroipku station, exit #7). Here you can find almost all the brand stores. It is a shopping district. Many foreign tourists are coming here. And the most of them are Chinese or Japanese so many sellers speak Chinese and Japanese. Near to Euljiroipku st. you can see Lotte shopping mall and Shinseage shopping mall.  

You can do shopping in Kangnam area as well.  Different stores are along both sides of the main road. You can make shopping, take a rest and have a meal in one of the hundreds of cafes, go to cinema etc. I think wherever you go in Seoul you can find a cafe.

Dongdamun. This district is also well known for shopping. About 4 high shopping malls with different local and Chinese stuff. It works from 11am till 5amevery day, except one day off. Personally, i will not recommend this place for shopping. Price is kinda low but quality is not so good. Btw, the Russian and Mongolian districts are located here as well. So, if you want to try Russian food, come to Dongdamun History and Culture station.

Outlets.

If you are looking for cheaper stuff of good quality, even brand clothes, it's better to go to Outlet. In Seoul you can go to Kasandigital station. It is kinda outlet district. There are at least 3 huge outlet buildings: Mario, W Mall, Lotte, Hyundai etc. It is so easy to spend a whole day just by walking around.

Each outlet has it's membership cards, different promotions, events. 

On Seoul station there is a small Lotte outlet as well. So, if you don't want to go far away, just visit that store. 

'Outlet city' Paju. Paju is located near to border with North Korea. These days that city is developing very rapidly and the hugest outlet store are located here. It's better to come here on working days because on the weekend it's really crowded. And it's better to leave it before 6pm, I mean before people leaving offices and going home, otherwise you will spend ages in traffic jam.

Cosmetics.

The Korean cosmetics are famous all around the world. The most of the women have something from Korean brands. So, its impossible to come to Korea and not to buy some local cosmetics. Middle level cosmetics you can find even in the street stores, like Missha, Face shope, Nature republic etc. Cosmetics of higher quality can be found in shopping malls or special stores.

Personally, I like Dr.Jart (for 20-30 years old) and oHui (for 40+). 

Digital Equipment.

Digital equipment malls are on Yonsan station and in Technopark (Kangbyong subway station). But you should be careful when you buy something there because not all the goods are of good quality and not all the sellers are honest and nice. Some of good can be fake. So, check the stuff carefully and bargain on price as well. Personally, I prefer to buy digital stuff in Hi-mart. The price can be a little bit higher than in Yongsan, but you can get a Tax refund. There are many Hi-mart stores in Korea, so just check the nearest one in google map or navermap (korean map application). I can recommend you one on Jamsil staton. Btw, there 2 Hi mart store. One is in Lotte Tower Mall and another one is near to amusement park Lotte World.

Duty Free.

Have you ever seen a duty free inside the city? No? so you can find it Korea. If you buy local brands you can get your purchase right after you paid. But if you buy foreign stuff you will get it in the airport on departure day. You can also use online duty free. It's very comfortable and some stuff is even cheaper than offline. 

I use Lotte Duty Free and it's mobile application.

Online shopping.

Many koreans use online shopping, so there are a plenty of different online stores. Even all the cosmetic stores have shopping page in internet. Because it is easy and comfortable. Delivery takes about 1-3 working days. There are special discount online stores as well. You can find discount coupons to some of the restaurants, beauty salons, services etc. Almost everything can be bought online. Here you can find the most famous pages where I usually do shopping. 

Lotte store

Discount store WeMakePrice (위메프)

Discount store Coupang

Discount store Ticket monster

Online store 11st

Each store has its mobile application. So, Enjoy your shopping! :)

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