Seoul Shopping Guide: How To Not Spend All of Your Money

 When you first arrive in Seoul Whenever you’re vacay-ing in, living in, or just in breathing range of Seoul, it can be VERY easy to spend a shit tonne of money within your first day, or hour, if you’re like me. That’s money on cosmetics, accessories, electronics, stationary, clothes, and just about everything in between. I’ve finaaaally after two years figured out a strategy (you know you’ve got shopping problems when you have to come up with a strategy) to avoid buying everything every single weekend. So I’m gonna share! In other words, this is a guide on spending loads of money, but spreading the spending out, so you’re not left in shock looking at your bank account after day 1 (disclaimer: you may still be left in shock at a later time, your choices not mine). 

I used to hit Myeongdong almost every Saturday. It’s shopping mecca, and you can read my guide to shopping in Myeongdong here.Whilst I’m definitely not suggesting you don’t shop in Myeongdong (you really should if you’re a tourist), I’ve come up with an alternative way to save money during your time in Seoul. Instead of hauling and buying insane amounts in one day, I’ve come to know which areas around the city I prefer for certain stores. So instead of trying to promise myself that I’ll just have one big haul day and no more shopping during the rest of the month, I now only visit a couple of stores at a time on any given day, because realistically I know I will never only do one shopping day a month (ha). This method has hugely reduced my monthly spending and gives me a great shopping experience at what I think are the best versions of the stores in Seoul. Here’s a brief area by area guide to my favourite stores (not only cosmetics), so you can spread your shopping out, and hopefully save a little money in the process!

Ewha Women’s University

If you want cheap clothes and shoes, Ewha is your place. It’s the shopping area two subway stops north of Hongdae next to the women’s university. I regularly go here if I want pretty tops and sweaters for 10-15,000 won. Unfortunately I have huge feet that are a size larger than the largest women’s shoes generally available (250 Korean/UK size 5.5 to 6/US 8 to 8.5 are the largest) but if your feet are smaller than mine, Ewha is a fantastic place for cheap but fashionable footwear. You can also find many cute cafes and some good street food, plus of course plenty of smaller cosmetics stores. It’s a nice area to spend an hour or so!

 

Gangnam Station

Surrounded by huge, dramatic skyscrapers, the wide boulevard of bright lights by Gangnam station attracts throngs of people every day and night for it’s fashionable shopping and entertainment options. Some of the stores here are the best in Seoul. I suggest you stop by the Memebox store, the HUGE Aritaum, the pretty Innisfree greenhouse-type store, the Kakao Friends store if you’re someone who’s willing to queue (not me), and just generally soak up the atmosphere of this buzzing area south of the river. If you head off the main boulevard you can find some great dining and coffee options (although slightly pricier) and it’s a fun place to hang out in the evening,  although be prepared for mega crowds.

Garosu-gil

Sinsadong- the Beverley Hills of Seoul. If you’re after designer stores and expensive taste, come and take a stroll along Garosu-gil. Whilst I’m not a huge designer shopper, some of the cosmetics stores along Garosu-gil are beautiful, and well worth a visit. I love to visit Sum37 and History of Whoo. Both are gorgeous, and even if I don’t intend to splash the cash, the browsing is great. Along this street there are also many cafes and clothes shops. Just off the street is the large 3CE store, which is a really fun cosmetics playground. They have the largest selection of 3CE makeup and if you want to shop this brand, I suggest stopping in.

Hongdae

Ah Hongdae, the most fun and fashionably experimental area, as well as, in the eyes of many of the older generations, the centre of hedonism in Seoul. With hundreds of bars, clubs, and restaurants, many people might think Hongdae is only for after dark activities. But the shopping here is also fantastic if you want any kind of accessory (particularly whatever is popular with the younger crowd), cheap clothes and a selection of the best cosmetics stores. My suggestions for shopping in Hongdae: in general you can pick up great bits and bobs along the main shopping street lined with clothes and accessories (see below photo), the Artbox in Hongdae is one of the bigger and better stores, Butter by exit 1 of the subway is fantastic for general lifestyle ‘stuff’ and browsing, if you want MAC Hongdae has a store, and I also love the VDL and Too Cool for School stores in Hongdae.

 

Myeongdong

Of course you should go to Seoul’s shopping central. I’m not going to say too much about Myeongdong as my shopping guide really covers it. But the best stores IMO in Myeongdong are: the massive Olive Young, Iope Cushion store, Line Friends Store, Forever 21, the Nature Republic by the station, the Laneige store, and the Lotte Young Plaza/Lotte Department Store. Also my favourite restaurant Myeongdong Kyeoja oh yeaaaah that kimchi. 

Samcheongdong

Samcheongdong is probably my favourite area in Seoul. It’s close to the coolest tourist areas- Gwanghwamun Square, Gyeongbokgung Palace, Bukchon Hanok village and Insadong, and in itself it has a very fresh, sophisticated and fashionable vibe. I love to just wander around this area, stopping at one of the many options for coffee, wine or food. In terms of shopping, my heart is here with Moonshot flagship store. It’s a great shopping experience, and I always go back for more. The Jeju House Innisfree store here is also lovely, with a (spendy) cafe up top. This Innisfree is the only place you can custom make a fresh facepack, which I enjoy. Along the street and around the Bukchon Hanok village there are also many great little hidden boutiques and accessory stores, so it’s a fantastic place to wander and explore.

 

That’s it, my short and sweet introduction to my favourite stores in my favourite areas of Seoul for shopping. Seoul is shopper’s heaven, and I’m sure there’s tonnes more I could add to this list. These are only my absolute star shops- in all of these areas are hundreds of stores, including all of the cosmetics options you could want. It seems there’s an Etude House on every street in this city for god’s sake. I’ve only included a select few shops which stand out for me. If you have any personal faves I’d love you to comment! I can’t obviously give detailed directions to every single store in this one blog post, but if you’d like more information on any of the above, then of course shoot me an email and I’ll get back to you. Happy shopping!