I know the korean fashion and cosmetics are really a big hit in many places around the world. Hence, it's extremely tempting to travel to Korea to get your cosmetics at a cheap price. and yes, it's a good idea to do that. However, today I would like to share a bit about my experience shopping in Korea.
Tax refund is 10%!
Once, I walked into an etude house store near the university and managed to choke up 30,000won. Since I was a tourist, I am entitled for the tax refund. For some reason, the store lady (from you know where) nicely exclaimed that she would be able to directly provide a discount and so you won't need to go to through the hassle of the refund process. I got a little happy and turns out I was CHEATED!!! The lady only gave me a 1% discount! The unfortunate thing was that I only realised this after walking out of the store. >.<
So, moral of the story, get a 10% refund!
Many stores sell the same thing
When you go to places like hongdae, ewha and myeongdong, there is a very high chances for some stores to be selling the same thing. Sometimes, different stores sell different colour of the same product. So, be a bit hardworking, shop around first! :) I know that sometimes you might not return to the same area again as the itinerary doesn't allow it. However, you should at least, within a single area, do some hunting before buying.
Ewha Vs Hongdae Vs Myeongdong
I can only speak for the girls. sorry boys!
Ewha is known for their cheap clothing. This one I would agree. Most of the stuff you can get around 10,000 won. Furthermore, some of the street food like egg bread is actually cheaper at ewha.
Hongdae, on the other hand, is slightly expensive. If you are in the main shopping street, then yes. Slightly expensive or sometimes comparable to ewha. However, there are many back alleys which you can also enjoy amazing korean fashion. Their clothing store are really unique and sometimes one of its kind. Thus the prices may hit sky-high. On top of that, there is flea market on saturday and sunday. Most sellers look like student-cum-artist. You can see the seller busy making new products while waiting for the customers. Truly one of its kind!
For myeongdong, I suggest you visit ewha and hongdae first then visit before going there. Get what I mean?
Made in China VS Made in Korea
I did made a conscious effort to buy items that were stated "made in korea". Why? Simply because i'm in korea! Sometimes, the stores may have deliberately mixed them together. So beware!
Duty Free shopping or Go through tax refund?
If you visit duty free shops, you will not need to go through the hassle of queuing and getting your refund back at the airport. However, you may only get a limited selected items at the duty free store. Furthermore, it's extremely crowded (NO KIDDING) It's packed with you know who.
Tax refund can be a messy thing. For the amateur, you might not like it. For the regulars, you probably can guess the protocol. There are several refund companies. For korea, as far as I know, it's not just global tax blue and global tax free. So, imagine this, you got to queue at least 2 times to get the money back at the airport. On a good day, the queue is short. On a bad day, maybe we can do without tax refund... Days with no queue? I doubt it...
Final suggestions (for those staying longer than 1wk)
If you are planning to buy cosmetics, go onto the cosmetics website in korean. Yes, in korean. Don't worry if you don't understand them because I truly think that it's extremely intuitive when we see 1+1 and 50% off. So, for those who are staying for longer period, keep a watch-out for days when the stores suddenly enters into a 50% off. It may only happen for 3 days or sometimes longer periods. Seriously, 50% off is way better than a 10% refund! :) Unfortunately, cosmetics stores at tourist area really seldom do 50% off. I'm very sure of this because I knew faceshop was having 50% off for most items but none of the faceshop at myeongdong was having that sale when I was there!!! :(
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