Hit the shops in Korea!

Shopping in Korea can be a blast, or an extreme experience...or even both! Being that Korea is heavily populated for its land area, you may often feel that there are a lot of people around at all times. You'll get used to it and what better way to really dive into the seas of people than to go shopping?

Korea has a wide variety of clothing/apparel stores that also have locations all over the world. Listed below are some international clothing store found in Korea (mainly in Seoul) that may be worth checking out. There are also some uniquely Asian stores that are sometimes more affordable. Just a forewarning, these stores tend to be more expensive than in your home country.
- Gap
- American Apparel
- Zara
- Forever 21
- ABC Mart
- Uniglo
- Lush
- Bean Pole
- Mango
- ...and many more!
Korea's also got loads of small, independently owned boutiques located in various places throughout each major city. Check out the larger subway stations, touristy areas and university neighborhoods in larger cities. These places tend to have stands that offer lower quality clothing for a very low price. (5,000-20,000 won per article.)
There are also shopping malls in Korea, but they may be different than the traditional shopping mall that you are used to. Many shopping malls in Korea consist of hundreds of different stands in a huge building with various "shopkeepers" trying to lure you to their stands in hopes that you will purchase something from them. In places like these, negotiating prices is somewhat normal, but some finesse may be required. If you somehow manage to offend a shopkeeper, he/she may refuse to sell you anything at all.

Deparment stores such as Hyundai (an upper scale one), Lotte Super, Homeever, and E-mart all provide reasonable prices on things such as groceries, home appliances and clothing. They can be compared to Wal-Mart and Target in the USA, ASDA and Tesco in the UK.

This is just a short guide of types of places to shop in Korea. As your co-workers and friends about more specific places with the best bargains! They'll prove to be a great source for you!