Your Korean Home
Now that you are in Seoul, you should learn about where to find and purchase certain things in order to make your accommodation your new home!
Where to...?
Following will be a formatted list of certain items you can conveniently purchase for an affordable price! As you may have noticed, people in Korea take a lot of care on how they dress and look, and you may want to join in. For that following are a list of places where you can find fashionable on season clothing for an affordable price!
Ewha University Shopping Area
You may or may not have heard of this shopping area and how cute and stylish the clothing are. However when you plan to go there prepare to spend hours to decide which one to buy! Some of the perks of this shopping area is that you can do everything in one day. There are numerous of makeup stores and various hair salons to get a complete makeover. Also there are different clothing stores that slightly vary in style and a few number of shoe shops that cater all kinds of styles and sizes.
Also is not just for women, there are options for men as well!! In clothing, shoes and care products so do not be discourage to look around!~
The map above illustrates the recommended shopping areas by locals since they are pretty popular and in reasonable prices. As you can see the purple line is known as "52 St." but is commonly not seen in the map, however is trendy for young women's clothes and accessories. The Yellow circle shows great areas to look for shoes and clothing for all genders also along your way you will see many popular makeup brand stores!!
Hongdae Shopping Area
Hongdae is one of the popular areas that you have heard because of their street dance, nightlife and food! Besides those great things to do, there are numerous clothing stores that you can explore around with a different style from Ewha Shopping Center.
We also recommend to go shopping during the week or early in the weekend because of the popularity of the area!!
Gangnam and Express Bus Terminal Stations
As you go around Seoul, you may notice that there are clothing stores in the subway stations so with older style and some not so. However we recommend to check out Gangnam for chic and classy clothing if that is more of your style. Keep in mind that you do have to scan out of the station to explore around~
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Now for the Express Bus Terminal is the biggest underground shopping areas in Seoul and has a vast selections of stores to purchase clothes, shoes, accessories and even food!! The terminal is also known as GOTEO Mall (GOTEO in Korean means Express) which is popular for the ladies, to get there you go to any exit 8 and will eventually lead you to the Mall.
Grocery Shopping!!
We all love food! and would love to go out to eat everyday but sometimes miss to cook something at home or just getting some snacks while you study! In Seoul there are a few chain supermarkets that have many products but there are also local supermarkets that may have cheaper options! follow this link to learn the different options to grocery shop: https://www.korvia.com/a-newbies-guide-to-grocery-shopping-in-seoul/
Yonsei Hall
For those who will be staying at our Yonsei hall location, there are some options for you to purchase your groceries! One of them is the Harmony Mart (하모니마트) which is across from the big street!! To get there just head towwards the big street from the Hall and cross, you won't be able to miss it!! Items are affordable and even cheaper than going to the convenience store!!
The map illustrates how to get to the Harmony Market by walking in only 4 minutes!! The Blue point is where Yonsei Hall is located and the Red point is the Harmony Market location!!
Sogang and Sogang Arrupe Hall
As to Sogang Hall, a big grocery store is quite far from the accommodation but there are a lot of convenience stores to find snacks!! Also is good to know that cheaper fruit are found being sold by big blue trucks as the picture below.
Banking in Korea
Going to a bank or using an ATM can be quite terrifying if you are not sure how to use one. However most ATM's in Korea accept Foreign Cards and have the option to complete your transaction in English and sometimes other languages as well!
Personally for money exchange going to a Bank is the better option since they sometimes don't take additional fees for converting your cash! If you decide to do this make sure you bring either you passport or ARC with you as a form of ID!
If you will be studying in Seoul, your school should help you to open up a Korean bank account in which you will be able to put money in and sometimes even use it as a T-Money Card. We can not guarantee that every bank will have English speaking staff but if you go to popular foreigner areas such as Itaewon, you will certainly have no problem!!
SIM Cards in Korea
Depending on how long you plan to stay in Seoul, there are various options to which kind of SIM Card you would want to purchase as well as different options according to your travels. DON'T FORGET TO UNLOCK YOUR PHONE!!
Pocket Wifi
If you just want wifi and not having to deal with all of the SIM card options, another option for you can be a Pocket Wifi which can vary in prices depending on how many days you will use it. One of the cons about this option is that you will have to be carrying around the poceket wifi device but have better signal than a SIM card! Click this link for further details and different companies you can purchase one: https://pretraveller.com/best-pocket-wifi-rental-korea/
For an ongoing updated page about best SIM Card options click: https://pretraveller.com/best-sim-card-in-korea/
We hope you transition well into your new future home and find everything you need to feel comfortable! Remember to checkout our other blog posts about living in Seoul.