62 Best Shopping in South Korea

What started as Asia’s largest single market in 1970 has steadily grown into the vast indoor shopping destination it is today. This 10-story retail behemoth accessible via underground passage from the subway station is filled with a mish-mash of stalls selling everything from clothing, socks, and accessories, to buttons, fabrics, and home goods. There are also more than two dozen cafes and fast-food eateries on site. Most shops are closed on Sunday, except the home goods area open on the first, third, and fifth Sundays of the month.

Opened in 2021 as part of the Parc 1 mixed-use complex, the Hyundai Seoul is the largest department store in the country with an area covering approximately 13 football fields. Not only is it a haven for shopping enthusiasts with its five floors of on-trend fashion and luxury labels, but the sleek, design-forward space also features 90 restaurants, a hanging garden, and a gallery with more than 200 works.

"Come! See! Buy!" This is the official motto of Korea's largest fish market, and no trip to Busan would be complete without a stroll down its thrumming concourse, where super fresh seafood of all types is splayed out in all of its scaly, tentacled glory. While the sleek, new raw fish center is distinctive, with glass paneling and a roof designed to look like seagulls, the surrounding streets will give you a better idea of the workings of the market, which are as old-school Busan as it gets.

Kim Jaehyun's high-end brand has garnered international acclaim and is one of Korea's fashion success stories. Her designs don't come cheap, but for anyone wanting to bring back a piece of Seoul fashion this is the place to go.

While this lifestyle concept store has branches all over South Korea, the Hongdae location is by far the best known. The five-story building sells accessories as well as both menswear and womenswear. In addition to A-Land brand items, the store features brands from other local designers. The overall style is best described as trendy and edgy. The items are a step up from stores at the nearby Hongdae Shopping Street and as a bonus, the store allows you to try on the items in its many fitting rooms.

Fans of K-Beauty will enjoy a pampering day at Amore Seongsu, a lifestyle cosmetics showroom which offers reservations for testing out makeup and taking classes from professional makeup artists in a beautiful garden setting. It's not exactly a shopping experience, but rather a spa-like service that allows you to sample 1,800 products from 40 brands. There's a rooftop to enjoy in addition to the garden-view rooms, and you can order tea from O'Sulloc's Tea House on the second floor. Booking a two-hour class means you can also take the products you like home.

If fashion is your thing, Gangnam's version of Beverly Hills' Rodeo Drive is the place for you. This concourse is home to scores of boutiques, along with accessory shops, shoe stores, and luxury brand discount outlets. It also hosts some of the highest concentration of plastic surgery clinics in the world. If nothing else, it's a good place to check out the scene, as over the decades this has been one of the big places in Seoul to see or be seen.

Find everything from stationary, toiletries, bags, and even furniture, in a variety of colorful, character adorned forms. This is an ideal place to pick up a unique, Korean-designed souvenir.

Sehwa-ri's Bellongjang is a local flea market that takes place on the Saturday from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm from March to October, except on the 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th, 25th, and 30th of the month, when the local five-day market opens. Initially formed by younger creative types who moved to the island from the mainland, it now draws many local merchants, not to mention plenty of travelers. In addition to handicrafts and other artworks, you'll find handcrafted post cards, locally made carrot juice, and other unique goodies.

Separated from the more famous Gukje complex by just one street, this colossal covered market specializes in imported goods and best of all, loads of great food stalls. To really get into the spirit of things, sit down at a plastic stool and dive into a bowl of guksu (thin noodles) or some of Busan's best bindaeddeok (mung bean pancake). And don't forget wash it all down with a fresh bottle of makgeolli (rice wine). Bupyeong is the site of city's only proper night market as well, running every day until 11:30 pm.

Situated in an alley right off the main Haeundae drag, this popular street market sells fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, and seafood, along with some traditional Korea items. It's most famous for its restaurants and food stalls featuring clams, squid, eel, and all other manner of sea life, along with Korean fried chicken and mountains of breaded and deep-fried snacks known as twigim. 

This fabric market is packed with colorful fabrics, buttons, ribbons and more. Besides haberdashery, there are also stalls that specialize in housewares.

Head to the second floor of the warehouse to find this shop of curated knick-knacks, which sells everything from hand-crafted wooden spoons to vintage china and illustrated postcards. Visitors looking for medium-priced souvenirs can find local ceramics for reasonable prices and have a cup of coffee by the window, as the older couple who run the establishment also sell beverages.

Open since 1945, Dongmun Market is the best place to go for a taste of the local foodstuffs, like black pork, tangerines, hairtail fish, and abalone. Try the omegitteok (a cake made from millet), and borippang (steamed barley buns). The market functions as a shopping space during the day, with the street food sellers really coming out at night. Located at the crossroads of several Olle walking trails and next to the lively Tap-dong district, it's a great place to explore.

This quirky weekend market is filled with antiques and retro items spilling out from storefronts onto the sidewalks across from Dongmyo Shrine. Thrifters will love the vintage clothes and shoes, and bargain hunters can score various trinkets, tools, and glassware for just a few thousand won.

This eight-story mega mall is brimming with more than 500 stores selling the latest fashion trends. An estimated three million foreign visitors a year peruse the mix of luxury boutiques, emerging designers, sportswear, and fast fashion encompassed in this late-night shoppers’ paradise. If you’re looking for the hottest trends in K-style, this is the place to break out your credit card.

This 24-hour Korean supermarket chain has branches all over Korea and carries cheap cosmetics and just about anything else that you could possibly want at two in the morning. They claim to stock more than 30,000 products, including handy travel essentials like adapters and suitcases.

This traditional street market contains well over 400 vendors selling fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, clothing, dry goods, and traditional Korean medicine. Like many traditional markets, the street stalls are a main attraction, with delicacies such as tteokbokki(rice cakes in sweet, spicy sauce), bindaetteok (mung bean pancakes), guksu (thin noodles), and the deep fried snacks known as twigim.A covered arcade roof over the main concourse keeps browsers out of the rain.

Gangnam has become defined by its love affair with luxury brands, and nowhere will you find a greater concentration of shops dedicated to these high-end goods than the Galleria Department Store at Apgujeong Rodeo Station. The store, which is spread out among two buildings (Luxury Hall East and Luxury Hall West) features international brands such as Prada, Bally, Ferragamo, Fendi, Tod's, Armani, Gucci, and more. There are also high-end jewelers, and Gourmet 494, a food boutique located in the basement.

This basement mall connected to Gangnam Station features tiny shops and kiosks selling the latest in fashion trends. It's a great place to browse if you have a bit of extra time on your hands.

Seoul's largest wholesale agricultural products market, set in an expansive complex, is also a major destination for meat and seafood. This is a real, functioning place of commerce, and if you're in the mood for meat or seafood, you can haggle with the vendors on the first floor and then take your spoils to restaurants situated above. While the experience may be a bit rough and tumble, you'll save a bit of won compared to other destinations in Seoul, and gain so much in experience.

Busan's most sprawling market sells everything from clothes and jewelry to bowls of steaming noodles and bean porridge. It's hard to know where the various market buildings begin and end, and when Gukje Market becomes Bupyeong Kkangtong Market. What is certain is the lively atmosphere and great eats such as dangmyeon (glass noodles) and chungmu gimbap (seaweed rice rolls with spicy radish) served up on Gukje's famous food street. The market was also the setting for the 2014 hit Korean film, Ode to My Father.

Seoul has a reputation for inexpensive, high-quality tailored suits and Hahn's is one of the most established and convenient tailors in the area. For under $500, they will have a something ready in 2-3 days.

Mainly geared toward teenagers and early-20-somethings, this mall is overflowing with trendy frocks, candy-colored shoes, glittering baubles, and numerous other frilly accouterments. Everywhere you look you’ll see signs screaming “Sale!” and this mall is indeed known as one of the best places in Dongdaemun to score a bargain. As the name cheekily suggests, the mall is open from am to pm and back again into the wee hours of the morning. Note: most shops carry only women’s clothing, and there are limited options for men. 

One of the best stores in the city for art supplies, Homi Art Shop is a favorite among students at Hongik University. The store has a wide range of products from spray paint to calligraphy brushes and needles for knitting. The prices are reasonable, and there is always a sale bin in the back corner with products up to 80 percent off. Also check out the collection of hanji (traditional Korean paper) on the second floor.

Thirty or forty clothing boutiques line two parallel streets approximately a quarter of a mile from Hongik University Station to KT&G Sangsang Madang. While most of the shops focus on trending women’s apparel, there is the occasional secondhand shop and pet goods boutique. It’s easy to tell which stores sell what as many of the shops display half their items out front. You'll find a range of similar items along the street at varying price points, and most items are not available to try on. Evergreen items like T-shirts and jeans can be a good deal, but beware that these fast fashion items often come apart after a few washes.

Hyundai is one of South Korea’s most popular department store brands, and this outlet version offers the previous season’s styles for a deep discount. Men’s, women’s, and kids’ clothing are all available, as are handbags, shoes, beauty products, appliances—you name it. The complex features various cafes and bakeries, and the parking lot has two dedicated female-only floors.

Operating thirteen branches nationwide, Hyundai's Busan branch opened in 1995 and is centrally located in Beomil. The emphasis is on luxury brands, cosmetics, and shopping—an experience with plenty of staff on hand to assist. Interestingly there is a whole floor of the car park dedicated to female drivers. If you are coming by subway however, Hyundai Department Store can be accessed directly from Beomil-dong station through exit 7.

Since 1985, this has operated as Hyundai's flagship store, with upscale shops selling designer brands, restaurants, household goods, food, and more. The rooftop is home to the Sky Park garden, where you can relax among the bamboo and birch trees and watch the clouds drift by.

This polished mall is set in the three basement levels of the International Finance Center and is connected to the subway station via an underground walkway—a real godsend if you’re visiting Seoul during a frigid winter or the dog days of summer. While the mall features a pretty standard lineup of coffee shops, fast food eateries, and cosmetic and fashion brands, it’s also known for hosting Hallyu events such as K-Drama movie premiers in its 4D theater.