Myeongdong is a very popular shopping district in South Korea and it is a must-go if it is your first time visiting Seoul. To get there, you can use the subway train and the exits are available below. If you want a general guide, you can visit here too.
Transport by Subway:
Myeongdong Line 4, Exit 6
Euljiro 1-ga Line 2, Exit 5 or 6
Things to keep in mind:
- Staffs can be very pushy and lack of smiles on their face. Don't let that ruin your shopping experiences because they are just like that.
- They will keep on persuading you to buy their products (mainly because they can get commissions). If you suck at self-control, you might want to be prepared before coming here.
- If you don't want them to follow you, just let them know that you want to look around. If you need something from the store, let them know and they will guide you immediately. They are very informative too.
- Make sure to bring your own shopping/recycling bag! Some will give you a paper bag if you shop a lot but not all will do that.
- English is still not so great here. Mandarin is almost like their second-best language tho!
- Check their tax refund availability before shopping. Usually, you have to spend over KRW 30000 to get a tax refund (approx KRW2000) immediately when you pay but some shops either don't do it at all or they need you to do it at the airport.
When I first visited Myeongdong (I went there like 3-4 times yo), I was so excited because Lloyd was literally right there staring at me, inviting me to walk in and start spending hundreds of ringgit. Eventually, I got myself a ring because I really liked their quality and everything. They're like the Tiffany of Korea but with a much cheaper price tag.
Lloyd the Gift
66-13 Chungmuro 2(i)-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Oh yes, hunney, I bought something. I was eyeing this shop years before I could go to Korea and I'm not letting the chance go even though it's expensive. Having a ring here is basically getting a wedding ring to myself because I love myself too much (okay sorry I'm listening to Lizzo now but no doubt I buy this because I do love myself).
I personally suggest visiting the store physically before purchasing online. It's because they can look very different when you wear them. Also, you get to test the sizing here with the help of their staffs. They're super helpful and they will bring out any ring that you want to try without giving you that 'ugh could you hurry up' ton. I really enjoyed my time there.
If you want to see everything that they offer, you can visit the website. However, you can check out the photos I have for you too, to get an idea of what they look like in real life.
Everything on display is too pretty and I wish I could buy more ;-;
These were from the sailor moon series. Pretty small right?
If you go at the right time, they'll have sales too.
I mainly visit because of the rings and oh man, it was so hard to choose.
Sorry about the photos turning really orange.
That's mostly the lighting and my camera's focus.
I basically took more than half an hour trying to choose one, even called my bf who was having a break between his university classes. We ended up not being able to make a decision and I ended the call after he said "Just choose whichever you feel resembling you a lot.
So I picked this over the other Rapunzel ring from the Disney Series.
It's a Crescent moon ring at KRW 79900.
After that, we were immediately greeted by The Face Shop and of course, we went into to check out what they have.
The Face Shop
The very front of the store was the iconic Coca Cola collaborative series.
We have these in Malaysia so I skipped it :>
That aside, we could also see so many things that were simply not available in Malaysia. One of the most noticeable items is that KAKAO collaborative product right there, which I think is a hand cream.
Not only that, there were also Klavuu items available here! They have sales or promotion going on but is it worth it? I'm not entirely sure. I mean, it does have a small discount as compared to purchasing a single item but it really depends on yourself. I personally find that it's not so much of a discount for me because it is still expensive, regardless.
So I ended up only getting one instead of three.
Another thing that I bought right away: Dr Belmeur pimple patches! These are not available in Malaysia anymore but they're better than Cosrx (according to Eros from Fishmeatdie).
I also noticed that the cleansing was really cheap. It was selling KRW 6000 for 70 wipes but because it was on a 1+1 sale, I basically got one for KRW 3000! I shared this promotion with my travel buddy. I also got the Therapy First Serum which I heard was pretty good but it was also pretty expensive, at KRW 18000.
That's all I've gotten in the Face Shop. They kept trying to get us to buy their sheet masks, which admittedly is the cheapest you can find in this area but I genuinely just don't want to use their masks or have their masks to be souvenirs for my colleagues.
Holika Holika
Holika Holika was terrifying when we see it from the outside and also way scarier when we're inside. The staffs kept pushing us to buy something. We tried to look around and see what they have in store but we kept getting disturbed by different staffs, keep trying to tell us what's good about the product we're looking at or what's good about products that we're not interested in. It was really annoying because we couldn't even see much before we got annoyed and left the place.
I managed to get some photos so here you go:
They also had a collaboration with Milky right here.
Next, to that, you have mask sheet promo shelf which I was not so interested in.
Compulsory mirror selfieeee!
Innisfree
This is a smaller branch of Innisfree and there isn't much left to see. It was really sad so we left and then we found another bigger one which has more items in it.
I think the one below is one of their more focused store in Myeongdong.
It features more items and has a wider space with cleaner testers for you to play around. The previous ones had really terrible looking testers which were just... awful.
It looks like our ones in Malaysia but it has more items that we don't.
Some of the products are set-promo items.
There's no way you can get a better deal here in Malaysia.
They also had their cleansing wipes on promo but I already bought from The Face Shop so I didn't bother checking out. That, and also I don't know much about these series.
If you love the second skin mask like I do, here's what they are offering in a pack of 10. The price is probably cheaper but it's still expensive, in my opinion. However, it does work really well on my skin.
I bought a few things from Innisfree too!
If you haven't seen my haul post, you can click the button below.
More photos of what they sell available in this blog post:
Etude House
Etude House! This is the one with the second floor but I don't think we can access it so it's fine.
It was not as big as Innisfree but it does have a lot of testers and ready stocks.
Etude House is definitely not playing when it comes to giving you sets and promotions. We saw so many things that we want and I -of course- couldn't handle it.
These are pretty good deals if you asked me. The prices are definitely cheaper than in Malaysia too. It's about 40-50% cheaper, from my observation.
I bought these on promo. The left one was already on discount and they gave me more discount for the second unit, which I couldn't say no to. The extra discount happened because I bought quite a lot of things from Etude House. The eye patches were for my need to refresh my eyes but apparently, they take longer than cotton eye masks so I don't really like it,
I also bought this jumbo-sized makeup removing water because I always wear makeup and this big one just looked great for someone like me who needs a lot of makeup removing per session.
Also, I had been aiming this Blossom series of primer from Etude House for a very long while and it was already in my Korea Shopping List so I definitely cannot miss it. It works like the blue/water version but it's pink! It's also at the same price so why not.
Last but not least, the eye glitter!
They had 2+2 promo for these so I went ahead and grabbed 4.
6ixty8eight
This lingerie store may look familiar to you, that's because they opened it in early May. I happened to visit it right before their opening date and here how's the Myeongdong store looks like.
Their store was very wide and it located underground so won't see much of sunlight unless you're near the entrances. They showcased a lot of their lingeries and clothing on their mannequins to promote the products and styles that they are offering. Most of them are new arrivals.
At the time when we were there, they had promotions for their underpants and bras.
It's either a buy 5 for a promotional price or buy 1 bra and 2 underpants for a promotional price.
I wouldn't say that their clothing line is special but you can always give it a look. To me, it felt like Brands Outlet or Padini quality.
As you walked out of the other exit, you could also see these two stores. Skinfood, as you may hear that they closed business in Malaysia, was still available in Korea! However, they do not offer most of their previous products but certain best sellers only.
O-lens
When I saw O-lens, I was excited! I freaking love their lenses because they are so comfortable. One thing that you must take note is that not all branches offer tax refund so be sure to ask beforehand.
Buy 1 Free 1 is a common thing here and you can ask them to test the contact lenses on their palette with two brown coloured fake eyes to see how you like the patterns. Honestly, this really helped a lot and I think most optic shops should adapt to this sort of method.
You can also check out their products first if they have customers to attend to before they could assist you. In the meantime, if you bought some and would like to wear it immediately, they have a mirror bar table available for you.
Oh yes, I definitely bought some before I leave the shop.
STYLENANDA Pink Hotel
The oh-so-famous STYLENANDA Pink Hotel! It looks very, very much like a hotel and just nice, we visited when they are having their 10th year anniversary promotions going on.
Look at that hotel aesthetic, wooh!
The amount of 'keys' yo.
Really keeping the details going.
There's also a floating bed on the ceiling if you looked up.
As you go further into the store, they have more items on display for you in the very hotel way.
Breakfast buffet, anyone?
The 'buffet' section was placed right next to the counter.
Walking closer to the elevator, we can find a directory.
So we just passed by the lobby and now we're visiting the SPA section.
Spa section is pretty much like a hair and makeup salon.
They also have a bathtub near the balcony which you can see the bed from just now.
No doubt I need another selfie here.
For the Room's section, I didn't linger long so I proceeded to the next floor.
Forth floor is the laundry section.
The difference between this floor and the previous floors is that it has more accessories and 4 washing machine on the sides.
They also have shoes on the side.
Next up, the Pool Cafe. You can identify this level by looking at the blue square tiles on the wall which resembles the tiles in a pool.
The tax refunding kiosk is available here along with a fitting room in case you want to try out the neatly folded and ironed clothes from just now.
This is the pool cafe bar and that's pretty much it.
Lush
Lush is available in Myeongdong but I didn't take much photos because I was video-calling my boyfriend and showing him around when I was in the store. But like, look at the bubbles that they are making tho!
Apieu
I do recommend A'peiu if you like products that work and have very, very affordable prices. One of their very famous makeup line: Juicy Pang series. I tried their blushes in nail polish packaging and they are very 'juicy', colourful and lightweight.
One of the things I also like the most: Raspberry hair products. They smell so goood. I regret not getting the hair mist tho. Another best seller line to look at: Madecassoside series. They were praised a lot by many Korean reviewers.
CLUB CLIO
If you're not familiar with Club CLIO, it's basically a store for both CLIO and Peripera. They are both sister brands. I didn't take many photos because I was super tired and I was annoyed that they sold out the palettes, resulting in me running to Olive Young to get one before it's sold out too.
Olive Young
This Olive Young is huge and it houses so many products and categories. They have two levels for you to shop around and trust me, you will find it difficult to decide what you want or even leave the store empty-handed. I went in twice and I still bought stuff.
Cashier counter is all the way to the back and it's available on each floor so don't worry about the long queue. They can speak good English and Mandarin here as well.
There's also a gift wrapping section in case you want to wrap up your cart. As mentioned before, I needed to run back here to get the palette and here I did, on the second visit.
You can see more of the items I bought in Olive Young in my haul post. Moving on, let's look at the streets, shall we?
There are a ton of brands here for you to walk around and honestly, one full day of walking around was not enough for me to discover the majority of the stores here. However, I do encourage you to try one full day in this area because at night, they have more food stalls available, turning Myeongdong into another night market.
Here's a few things that I've tried
Meat Stick
I don't really like this store, I prefer the one I found in Ewha district because this one in Myeongdong is less juicy and the owner is less friendly. Like, the owner from Ewha district kept initiating to help me cut the stick so that I can eat the meat easier. He also didn't mind if we ate very close to his stall. This one in Myeongdong told me to stay away from his cart and that tells me to cut the stick on my own by gesturing at the cutter on the side.
I also went to try this sweet chicken thing. I think it was sweet sauce and mayonaise. Not a big fan of how it taste and how it's not as crunchy as I thought. Wouldn't really suggest you to try too.
Hotteok (sweet pancakes; 호떡) is a must try! It's crunchy, sweet and makes a great comfort food but don't get too comfortable because it can drip everywhere which happened to my, uh, RM250+- Uniqlo jacket. I was so sad about it.
Sweet Strawberry Mochi (생딸기 모찌) is also another must-try! This is especially when the Strawberries are in season. They are so big, juicy and sweet. Pairing it along with the red bean paste was so amazing because it helps to clear off the heaviness from the thick red bean paste and the mochi skin.
I also would recommend you to buy a box of strawberries to just eat it like that. Seriously, they tasted so freaking good!
Daiso
We took a short trip to a 4 stories Daiso which was right opposite Myeongdong district and they were featuring Sakura blooms at the time. I didn't take many photos because there were too many people inside and the space is really small.
Daiso in Korea is way more special than ours. Did you know they accept credit cards too?! Apparently, the credit card payment method is available for usage almost everywhere in Korea. So much better than in Malaysia.
There was also the Milky collaboration items!!!!
Okay, yea that's all from that Daiso trip. Seriously, I wished I have more time to look around but it was very late already and they wanted to close up the store. Oh, one more place that we went for dinner:
Shin Seonn Seolnongtang
신선설농탕 명동점
서울 중구 명동2가 2-2
If you come here anytime before 9:30pm, you have to line up, man. Like, about 1-2hrs long. Honestly, I don't think that it's that worth it. Here's the menu for you to see first:
It's also a very small place and you might have to uh, sit with other people.
They also have a guide here, which tells you to season your own soup, take your own side dishes and etcetra.
They offer a lot of kimchi and you can just take however much you want (or however much you can handle, just make sure you can finish it and don't waste food).
There's also a mirror here??
You also have this thing which I assume is a sanitizer?
(IDK, please help.)
So, we ordered the beef soup and some mandus.
They look pretty plain i.m.o.
Beef pieces were very lean and kinda hard to chew. You can also opt to put the rice into the soup just to eat it that way. I find it alright for me. The soup was seriously very plain, even after seasoning with salt and pepper, which was a huge disappointment for me.
The mandu was probably the best out of these two. It's huge but the taste is also quite plain. Honestly, unless you like lightly seasoned food, this isn't the place for you. I really don't see the appeal of the soup and I don't think I'll ever want to try it again.
That's all for this post!
Do check out my other posts!
You may find them helpful :D
Korea 2019 Directory
Hapjeong - (Read)
- Mapo Mandu (Read)
- The Recorder Store (Read)
Hongdae - (26.7)
- Sigonggan Accessory (Read)
- Stonebrick (Read)
- Butter (Read)
- King's Cross (Read)
Ewha - (Read)
- Eros Fortune Telling Cafe (Read)
- Woono Accessory (Read)
Itaewon
- Line Friends (Read)
Gyeongbokgung - (Read)
Dongdaemun - (29.7)
- Shake Shack (Read)
COEX Mall - (Read)
Myeongdong - (Reading Now)
Airbnb - (30.7)
Others
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![Korea 2019| Myeongdong [Lloyd the Gift, 6ixty8ight, O-lens, STLYENANDA Pink Hotel, Olive Young, The Face Shop, Innisfree, Lush, Apieu, Street Food, Shin Seonn Seolnongtang]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTtLs-c8BYI2BvcBQ4ssYN9fbzhYHVxMWLsTtWXQuKt0A5HjzmiRXKUIyADRgDBLS6Q_3FhBBSaWMvzZhLlaZRqIRUqMdsomFkoMWAkaKtxEj2t2Uuj-rnCgcLULqebGS8Sm1WzRDJKTg/s72-c/koreamyeongdong.jpg)
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