[South Korea] The Week of Shopping Frenzy

Preface: I've been lazy lately and am already planning my next trip. All photos below are unedited. If I ever feel like it, I'll come back to replace them. Viewer discretion is advised for poor image quality.

Real life always has its ups and downs. In a year, there should be a few days where you leave reality behind and truly enjoy life.

Attached is an itinerary. The beauty of independent travel is that wherever you go, there is scenery.

Let's go in the order of preparation:

1. Passport + Visa

Before this, I had never been abroad. To get a new passport, you need to go to the exit-entry administration center in your registered residence. As far as I know, many police stations in cities can now handle this as well. Just search online. The passport takes about 5 working days to be issued. It's worth noting that picking it up in person is much slower than having it mailed (personal experience, not guaranteed for all regions).

As for the visa, South Korean visas are known to be easy to obtain. They are widely available on major travel websites and even Taobao, but the required documents vary by region. For example, Shanghai residents can get a visa with just their household registration book and ID card—something to envy. Of course, group visas are simpler than individual visas. If you don't insist on independent travel and have difficulty providing documents, you can opt for a group tour.

2. Flights + Hotel

I usually compare prices between Ctrip and Alitrip for flight bookings. Ctrip seems cheaper for international flights and hotels. Ctrip also offers flight+hotel packages, but you have to compare prices yourself since they change constantly.

My booking prices:

Flight: Shanghai Pudong - Incheon, round trip direct: 2,788 RMB/person

Hotel: Myeongdong Nine Tree Hotel, standard room: 3,236 RMB/5 nights

PS: I only noticed after booking that Alipay has a "World is So Big" promotion page where you can book hotels at 5% off the same price. Since the total hotel cost was relatively high, the discount was quite good. This promotion covers not only South Korea but also several other popular travel destinations. Worth checking out for travelers planning trips.

Based on many travel guides I read before departure, I chose Bank of China to exchange 1,000 RMB ≈ 163,000 KRW. That was the exchange rate on that day, but banks actually round to the nearest KRW amount, since the RMB is directly deducted from the bank card, so odd cents don't matter. Exchanging money at the bank charges a fee and the rate is low. Comparatively, exchanging in China is really not worth it.

Let's calculate based on my route: Upon arrival at the airport, find a 7-Eleven to buy a T-Money card for 4,000 KRW, then recharge at a self-service machine (7-Eleven only sells cards, not recharges, but you can get the remaining balance refunded; the card itself is non-refundable). The regular Airport Railroad to Seoul Station costs less than 4,000 KRW with T-Money, then transfer to Subway Line 4 to Myeongdong Station (single ride with T-Money seems to be 1,350 KRW). So recharging 10,000 KRW on T-Money should be enough for the fare to the hotel. Of course, this doesn't apply if you choose other transportation. In a foreign country, it's safer to bring a bit more cash. My habit is to multiply the estimated spending by 2, then round up to a round number.

(4,000 + 10,000) * 2 = 28,000 * 2 (people) = 56,000 ≈ 80,000 KRW (about 500 RMB)

So for two people, exchanging 80,000 KRW at the bank in advance is enough.

There are many currency exchange offices on Myeongdong Street. You'll be shopping anyway (stores generally accept cards, some even Alipay). Keep an eye on the exchange rates at various offices and choose a favorable one. During my stay, the highest rate I saw was 1:169.5, and most rates stayed at 1:168 (of course, there are scam rates, we just pretend not to see them, right? O(∩_∩)O~~). Isn't that much better than exchanging in China?

Because I calculated money above, I've already listed the transportation I chose and approximate prices. In fact, this was also after comparison. Below are all my preparations. From here on, all amounts are in KRW.

Route: Incheon Airport - Myeongdong Nine Tree Hotel

A: Exit 5B/11A, take Airport Limousine Bus 6015 directly to Myeongdong (Sejong Hotel stop). Total time 1.5 hours, fare 15,000.

B: Take Airport Railroad (B1) to Seoul Station, transfer to Line 4 without leaving the station to Myeongdong Station Exit 8. Exit, turn left, and walk 20 meters to the hotel.

There are two types of Airport Railroad:

- Express: non-stop, 43 minutes, fare 8,000.

- All-stop: about 10+ stops, 53 minutes, fare 4,000 (I don't remember exactly, just round number).

C: Ctrip now offers a 1 RMB airport pickup service, but it seems they don't wait if the flight is delayed, which is troublesome because delayed flights are common.

Comparing options A and B: For convenience and time-saving, A is better. For B, the two types of Airport Railroad differ by half the price but only 10 minutes in travel time. The entrances face each other: the express is orange, the regular is blue. There's really no difference except comfort.

Airport buses have dedicated ticket counters. Airport Railroad and subway can use T-Money or a single-trip ticket (at self-service machines, same machine as T-Money recharge). I mention this because the T-Money card from the 7-Eleven at the airport is a LINE collaboration card, more expensive than regular ones sold elsewhere. If you're not into LINE, you can buy a single-trip ticket first and get a T-Money card later at a convenience store near your accommodation.

Honestly, I downloaded way too many apps. I tried each one before keeping them, but very few were actually useful. The ones I have now have been through several rounds of deletion.

The three duty-free shop apps are self-explanatory—just for shopping. There are slight price differences, and using points, splitting orders is the best strategy. During trip planning, you can log in daily to collect points, so you can buy once the flight is booked. I was initially worried about splitting orders across three duty-free shops, fearing long queues at airport pickup. But in reality, each duty-free shop has multiple pickup counters at the airport, distributed by boarding gate to spread out the crowd. I saved screenshots of the pickup numbers for each order in my phone for quick reference. At all three shops, I picked up my items in under 10 minutes—very efficient and error-free.

The two apps in the bottom row are coupon apps. I filtered the attractions I wanted to visit, printed those that required printing, and memorized the rest. Most can be shown on your phone. When eating or shopping, just open the app and show the clerk.

Baidu Translate: I only used this one to look up words I couldn't say. In Myeongdong, Chinese is absolutely fine; the staff can effortlessly switch between Chinese, Japanese, English, and Korean without missing a beat—impressive! Outside Myeongdong, Koreans' English is hard to look at; even words I know become unrecognizable when they say them... But after a few days, I got used to it... well, got used to guessing...

Seoul Subway: Really useful. It's essentially a complete subway route map with Chinese and English labels. Korean subways announce stops in Chinese, Japanese, English, and Korean, and the electronic displays show the same, so you won't get lost if you follow along.

Where Am I (app): Many people recommend it, but every time it navigated, it was off. Even Baidu Maps is better!

Google Maps: Works well sometimes, not others. When it doesn't crash, it's accurate.

Baidu Maps: This is my usual app, not in the screenshot category. For walking directions, it also has errors, but subway transfer directions are accurate. The downside is that it doesn't show exit numbers. In Korean subways, different exits can be quite far apart, so taking the wrong one is frustrating.

16fan (app): Travel notes and info are up-to-date, the layout is simple and comfortable. I browsed it before the trip.

This is probably the thing I spent the most time on but actually requires the least research.

Remember two points: ① Tax refund applies only for purchases over 30,000 KRW per receipt. ② Ask for a tax refund slip when paying.

Yes, it's that simple! 30,000 KRW was about 180 RMB at my exchange rate. Cosmetics and meals in restaurants will definitely exceed that, so just don't forget to get the tax refund slip.

Not many stores offer on-the-spot tax refund; they usually have signs on the door. Only on-the-spot refund requires a passport, but it doesn't matter because you'll still have slips to refund at the airport, so queuing is inevitable.

South Korea has two tax refund systems: "Global Blue TAX FREE" and "GLOBAL TAX FREE." Generally, the difference is negligible. I bought what I wanted without calculating too precisely.

The specific tax refund process:

① At the airport, first check in (you can check luggage without unpacking for tax refund).

② Go to the tax refund machine in Area D with (boarding pass + tax refund slips + passport).

③ Staff will help scan and register.

④ Take back the tax refund slips (same slips, now scanned).

⑤ From here, proceed with security, immigration, etc.

⑥ Find the tax refund machine again with (tax refund slips + passport) to get the money: mostly credited to Alipay, or cash for merchants that don't support it. Staff will assist.

⑦ Go to the designated pickup counter to collect duty-free items.

⑧ Stroll around the airport duty-free shops and spend all remaining KRW.

In summary, the check-in process is the same. The entire tax refund process has staff to help. As long as you have the documents and remember to go, it's fine.

Before departure, check the Korea Tourism Organization website. Not only can you print coupons, but there are also irregular gift exchange events. The Korean SIM card in the photo below was obtained for free by registering departure info on the official website. The event ended on July 31, and I can't find the link anymore. But there are other activities to follow.

8. Itinerary Planning

My habit is to first gather famous attractions or recommended spots at the destination and draw a simple map. The benefit is marking all the places I want to go and understanding their relative positions, making it easier to plan the itinerary without missing anything or taking detours.

My handwriting is ugly, but that's the idea. Clustered spots are arranged on the same day.

Now, onto the main content...

"Ten minutes on stage, ten years of practice off stage."

The more thorough the preparation, the smoother the trip. And I don't strictly follow the itinerary, so it's even more important to familiarize myself with each location and its surroundings. When mentioning Korea, the first things that come to mind are kimchi and shopping. And indeed, that's the reality.

D1: Porridge + G25 + Myeongdong Night Market

The first day was basically wasted because the flight was delayed, and being my first time abroad, many procedures were confusing. By the time I checked into the hotel, it was almost 8 PM. Stayed at Nine Tree Hotel Myeongdong. The room didn't have toothbrushes or toothpaste, but all other toiletries were provided. The room wasn't as small as described by others; it was sufficient for two people. The hotel's location was excellent: exit 8 of Myeongdong Station on Line 4, about 100 meters after turning left. Below the hotel was Myeongdong shopping street. In the following days, when I couldn't carry my purchases, I'd dash back to the hotel and then go out again.

Some snacks bought at the subway station to tide us over.

After a brief rest, we quickly went out for dinner. We chose Porridge (Myeongdong branch), recommended by many. The bowl was huge, impossible to finish, and the store didn't allow sharing. Be prepared if you want to try it. It tasted like salty rice porridge... I don't understand why it's recommended, but it had plenty of ingredients, including many small octopuses.

After eating, we started shopping. Shops in Myeongdong generally close around 10 PM. The street food stalls, which only operate at night, gradually close between 10 and 10:30 PM. Used to late-night food stalls in China, I was surprised by the night market here! Finally, we bought some drinks at a convenience store and called it a day.

D2: Isaac Toast + Trickeye 3D Museum + Mango Six + Sinjeon Seolleongtang + Ewha Womans University + Sulbing + Lotte Duty Free + Joonggon Baekjeong + Myeongdong Night Market

On the first full day of the trip, I had the most motivation and stuck to the schedule best. After that, I got lazier and more focused on shopping, taking photos hastily before diving into the shopping frenzy...

The food we ate during these days was mostly popular chains with many branches. Shops on Myeongdong's main street open late; some cafes don't open until 10:30 or 11 AM. So this toast shop was a popular breakfast spot near our hotel, with about a 15-minute queue.

Looks simple, tastes simple too. It's just hot and fresh. The main advantage is its proximity to the hotel, so we could eat while walking and reach the subway entrance.

Trickeye 3D Museum (includes three halls: 3D Hall, Ice World, and Erotic Museum. The erotic museum has a separate ticket; if you have kids, skip it. The scale... I thought it was okay, quite funny.) It's at Hongik University Station on Line 3, surrounded by shopping streets similar to Myeongdong. The museum was boring, the 3D effect poor, so we quickly circled around for photos and left. Then we started shopping around Hongdae.

Ice World: So cold!! They only give a small cape! The staff walk around in long down jackets! Ahhh!!

Erotic Museum: Here are a few less explicit ones. I found them cute and quirky. This was my favorite of the three halls.

Had a cold drink to cool down (*^__^*)

For lunch, we chose Sinjeon Seolleongtang. The table offered three types of free unlimited kimchi. Two looked the same but tasted different, quite distinct.

We ordered two different seolleongtang, though they looked identical, so I only took one photo. But they tasted different too—amazing how that works.

After a full meal, we headed to Ewha Womans University. Since it's a women's university, the surrounding area is full of shopping streets. The famous Women's Street is here, with a wider selection than Myeongdong, especially clothes, accessories, and street food. Being near a university, it has a more vibrant, everyday feel. It's like the commercial street from student days—browse when there's no class, browse when you don't know what to eat. That kind of vibe.

Sulbing was delicious!!! Soft, not too sweet, rich milky flavor with a clean taste. Highly recommended!

Back in Myeongdong, with still some time, we visited Lotte Duty Free. The VIP card for physical stores has application restrictions. Neither my companion nor I met the requirements, and the application counter had a long queue. Most items available in physical stores are also on the online duty-free shop. Unless you need specific brands (like MCM) or items that are out of stock online, it's better to buy online (online membership gives 15% off instantly, plus points to deduct from payment). The best deals often come in sets, but the quantities and weights are troublesome, so it's good to share orders with friends. We browsed for over 2 hours but bought nothing, though we filled our online shopping carts.

For dinner, we chose Joonggon Baekjeong, a popular recommendation. It took a while to find it, but later we discovered there are several branches in Myeongdong. I felt so stupid. The grilled meat was good, with a lively atmosphere, lots of noise, big mouthfuls of meat and drink—loved it.

D3: Yuktongtong BBQ + LINE Friends + G25 + Lotte Mart + TWO TWO Chicken + Myeongdong Night Market

This day was basically spent in Myeongdong. In the evening, feeling guilty about staring at cosmetics all day, we went to Lotte Mart to buy some food. Still guilty. The itinerary was more boring than a log, so I'll just post some photos.

Despite the cold noodle's plain appearance, it was delicious!!! Very delicious!! The pork belly here was also good, with crispy, chewy skin that wasn't tough. I really loved this meal.

Had to queue for a photo with Brown Bear, but he's so cute, I had to take it. Ha ha ha.

This meal was more like afternoon tea. We just grabbed some random snacks at G25 nearby to rest our feet.

At Lotte Mart, there's a shipping service right after checkout. Tax refund is done on the spot, deducted directly from the total. Remember to bring your passport. Shopping bags cost 3,000 KRW each. Cardboard boxes for packing are free. There's a packing station near the checkout with various sizes of boxes to choose from. These boxes are recycled from store packaging—eco-friendly.

My packing was ugly...

Unpacking! Lots of goodies!

We bought fried chicken and street snacks for a late-night bite. The rice cakes were highly recommended—super chewy and Q, which sounds contradictory but describes the texture. I bought them every time I passed by.

D4: Angel in Us Coffee + Gyeongbokgung Palace + Tteok Museum + Itaewon Jjimjilbang + Myeongdong Night Market

This local brand is everywhere (as common as Coco). I was defeated by the Korean staff's English. So frustrating.

Subway stations all have signs and announcements in Chinese, Japanese, English, and Korean. Independent travelers can confidently take the subway.

Admission: 3,000 KRW per person; there's also a combo ticket for 4 attractions at 10,000 KRW per person. Compared to domestic attractions, this price is very reasonable.

Suddenly reminiscent of Xia Yuhe by Daming Lake...

At the far end, there's a small library, not just for show. It has many books, and people were seriously reading and studying.

We walked out without realizing it. Actually, we hadn't finished exploring. Then I noticed that behind Gyeongbokgung is the Blue House, similar to the Forbidden City being next to Zhongnanhai. The Blue House offers free tours, but you need to apply online at least 10 days in advance (applications up to 2 months early; cancel if plans change). When I tried to apply, there were no slots left. If you want to go, apply as early as possible.

The Tteok Museum below was a disappointment. Admission was also 3,000 KRW per person, but not worth it at all. It was hard to find. Basically, these photos cover everything. In short: don't go!

This meal was too late for lunch. We ate back in Myeongdong. I don't know the restaurant's name; it wasn't on any recommendation list, but it was full. The highlight: a set meal for 7,000 KRW with free refills. Two people could share one set and be full. Very affordable. The sushi and kimchi were nothing special, but the small squid tentacles were noteworthy. At first, they were too spicy! I couldn't handle them. Paired with sushi to cool down and kimchi to balance, the squid's cold, crunchy texture stood out. The three seemingly mismatched items were amazingly perfect together. Plus, they served hot soup. After drinking so much cold water, I was so touched!

Myeongdong Station is a major transit hub with Lines 4 and 3 (transfer not within the station). Most transfers to attractions go through these two lines. So we often returned to Myeongdong via subway. If we had too many bags or were hungry, we'd go back to the hotel and grab a bite. Next, we planned to go to a jjimjilbang. Korean jjimjilbangs generally provide nothing; bring your own toiletries (not even slippers—buy or bring or go barefoot. We went barefoot; it was clean). After eating, we went back to the hotel and headed to the jjimjilbang.

Itaewon Jjimjilbang: Famous because of a Korean drama. I don't watch many Korean dramas, so no nostalgia, just wanted to experience the atmosphere. This place was odd: various websites (like Dianping) gave wrong addresses. We found it based on other reviews. Actually, it's easy: from Itaewon Station Exit 3 on Line 6, walk straight, and keep going. You'll pass LINE Friends; Starbuck is diagonally opposite. When you see these long stairs, you've arrived. Of course, you have to climb them...

Price list: Before 6 PM, it's 2,000 KRW cheaper per person. Recommend arriving early.

Jajangmyeon was good, sweet rice wine was good. Ah, drinking every day.

The hot spring egg? It was boring.

The jjimjilbang experience was similar everywhere—nice but not essential to go to this specific one. There are alternatives; choose whichever is convenient. But they had an ice room, which was unusual and interesting. First time seeing that.

D5: Hello Kitty + Garosugil + Myeongdong Supermarket + Café de Paris

By this day, my energy was nearly depleted—couldn't buy or walk anymore. But I wanted to buy GM at Garosugil, otherwise I wouldn't have left Myeongdong. It rained heavily that day. Korean weather—no warning at all...

The store had many Hello Kitty dolls and merchandise.

I want to have a daughter in the future. Little girls are so cute. But, baby, it seems you're out of season with auntie.

Garosugil is great for taking photos, but all the good spots were taken by professional street photographers. I quietly took a picture of a car. And then it started raining again, so I ran.

Dinner was back in Myeongdong. I forgot the name. It always had a queue when I passed by, so I thought it must be good. The taste was just okay. China has too many similar options. It was a boring meal.

Right before closing, I bought the fruit cup that is always recommended when mentioning Korea. Overpriced and boring. The cream wasn't good quality, very greasy. The drink was half fruit, half cream, and the cream was clumpy... You can imagine the texture, right?

Honestly, my biggest impression over these days is that Koreans haven't eaten much good food. For example, there was a Korean food show that for 4 whole nights recommended noodles every day! Cold noodles, jajangmyeon, kimchi noodle soup (I made that name up). They'd take a bite and go wild. I can't even...

D6: Return: Had a bowl of noodles at Pudong Airport

Heading home! The spoils from duty-free!

This bowl of noodles cost 38 RMB. The prices at Pudong Airport are insane.

Here's a compilation of Myeongdong night market stalls from these days. Might not be complete, just the ones I remembered to photograph.

The trip ended happily. Looking back, I didn't visit many attractions. I had prepared many places, but sometimes I'd walk to the subway entrance and then get sidetracked by a shop or stop for dessert, changing the entire day's plan. I essentially shopped for 4 days straight, buying lots of cosmetics and clothes. Surprised by my own purchasing power. After returning home, dividing and giving away items, I still felt I bought too little of some things and forgot others.

South Korea is truly a shopping paradise, and independent travel there is very convenient and safe. Once I use up some of my cosmetics, I'll come back next year!