045/ Where I Like To Shop In Seoul

For luxury, contemporary and niche brands + all the Korean brands I didn't get to in my last newsletter.

Hello from sublime Kyoto, Japan where it’s blazing hot, but fortunately less humid than Seoul!

ICYMI, last week I wrote about a dozen Korean brands worth checking out, whether you’re shopping in Seoul, or behind your screen from elsewhere in the world. This week, I’m sharing the actual places I like to shop in the city, which incidentally, covers about another dozen Korean brands worth taking note of.

I also wrote about how shopping in Seoul is overwhelming because there are just so many options, and as a short-term visitor, it’s hard to know where to begin. There’s something for all tastes and budgets in the city, so those two factors will be the primary drivers of where you’ll want to shop.

If you’re looking for international brands, you’ll find them all over the city in incredible (air-conditioned) flagships and luxury departments stores (also air-conditioned) like Shinsegae, Hyundai, Lotte and Galleria. Department stores act like hubs within the city and you’ll surely walk through at least a few, even if it’s just from transferring on the subway system.

If you’re looking for mall brands, you’ll also find those all over the city in malls like Lotte Mall (Jamsil, not to be confused with Lotte Department Store) and shopping districts like Myeongdong and Garosugil (Shinsa).

If you’re brave and want to sort through the wholesale and retail markets at budget prices in search of gems, Dongdaemun is your place.

As for the focus of this newsletter, I didn’t cover luxury brands like Louis Vuitton, Valentino, Gucci, etc… because while they’re fun to browse, I can also easily find those brands anywhere else in the world. Also, importantly, the duties attached to imported luxury goods makes them much more expensive to purchase in Korea vs. at home in Canada. For similar reasons, I didn’t cover mall brands like Maje, Mango, etc… As for Dongdaemun, it’s like shopping at Winners but 100,000x the size, and I just didn’t have the energy to do that.

What I did focus on were multi-brand shops with a clear point of view. Some carry more high-end brands, while others carry more contemporary lines, and they all have a mix of international and Korean offerings. And all of them are worth popping into while you’re in Seoul!

If you have any favourite places to shop in Seoul, please let me know in the comments!