South Korea Voyage: SHOPPING

I must admit that I overdid the shopping in South Korea. Before the trip I thought that I would not spend much. I planned not to. After all, what is there to buy? I do not follow Korean fashion as they are sometimes too loud and brash or too candy-cute for me. I also do not use cosmetics (except for Clio’s eye liners which I highly recommend) or face products from any Korean brands.

But life does not go according to plan does it?

When faced with the crowded shopping streets and alleys of Myeongdong, teeming with locals and tourists alike, all busy weaving in and out of colourful eye-catching shops, with only one thing flashing above their heads like a big bright neon signboard: SHOPPING, I caved and threw caution, resolve and money to the wind.

Oh shame on me. I shopped and behaved like a madwoman.

And, my oh my, was it easy to shop in South Korea. All you really need is a card; physical cash is totally irrelevant because it only slows down the transactions. When you are on a whirlwind shopping mania, all you want to do is to look at the goods, get some brief recommendations from the salesperson, grab the items (whether you really need it or not; after all items that you don’t need can be gifted. SCORE!), load up your shopping basket, head to the counter, produce your card, SWIPE and sign. This already sounds like a lot of steps.

The magic word here is speed. You want to process to be swift and smooth because you want to get out of this shop (which you are already bored of) and head on to the next haven (or ‘trap’ if you will). You are bouncing in and out of shops (empty-handed in, bags of purchases out), going through them door-to-door like the Tasmanian Devil, wildly ecstatic, adrenaline coursing through your whole being. You are on a shopping high.

Also, for a truly truly enjoyable shopping experience, you should shop alone. Shopping with another wastes precious time because you will stand around waiting for each other, you will look at different things and then have to seek each other’s opinions before making the decision to buy. Time is of the essence when you are on a shopping high. Money is of secondary importance. Just have enough moolah to pay and try (try lah) not to go overboard. You do not want to be returning to your home country to survive only on bread and tap water. 

Myeongdong is a big area to cover and shops are aplenty. Of course, there are many repeated shops. For example, I spotted about three or four Nature Republic stores within Myeongdong, located at different streets. There could be more. So imagine all the popular skincare/cosmetic brands, Etude House, Face Shop, and etc. populating Myeongdong with multiple stores. Remove all these skincare/cosmetic brands from the picture and you will get the clothing, bags and accessories shops, and the restaurants and eateries. These are in abundance too so no worries. There are local brands, international brands and indie shops. Really, what you need you will get from here. They even have an emporium that probably sells your daily needs and groceries (I did not go in so I’m not very sure if they have a supermarket there).

One day is not enough to cover Myeongdong. Two full days might suffice. I am not sure because I did not cover Myeongdong (pulls long face, but it is probably a blessing a disguise). I only shopped there sporadically when I have any extra time, and during the final days of our trip, I took one afternoon for myself to do some crazy shopping.

That was the afternoon that I was hit with shopping high; and blew my budget for the trip. I walked with purpose and mad fervour, devouring every shop that caught my eye.  In the back of my mind I kept running through the list of people whom I am supposed to buy presents for and this made the appetite more voracious. Before this shopping trip I used only cash, doing a little purchasing here and there. But in the final days I ran out of cash and had to rely on my card. Big mistake (or bonus, depends on how you see it) because this unleashed the shopping frenzy that cost me my budget. I have never been this elated while shopping. I was out of character. I was uncontrolled. I was NUTS. Paying was so deliciously easy.

I walked into Rabeanco and left with a long leather wallet that was on sale – daddy’s gift.

I walked into a local indie store and left with a faux leather handbag – mummy’s gift.
I walked into Onitsuka Tiger and left with a pair of kick-ass Liberty print pumps – mine.

I walked into Converse and left with two pairs of funky-coloured high tops – sister’s gift and mine.

But my ultimate undoing was walking into Nature Republic because that unlocked my insatiable thirst for Korean skincare. For some reason, I really bought into the whole Nature Republic spiel; that its products really works and most ingredients are natural, blah blah blah. My friend and I spent enough to qualify for free shipping so we do not have to carry our loot in our already-bursting bags. I bought products that I usually do not use (foot masks, lip masks, under eye masks, hand masks) and products that are similar to what I have at home! I supposed it was the intoxicating array of colourful jars and bottles that were screaming out to me to “BUY!” And obediently I did. Besides, the salesgirl was really persuasive.  So, with my first Korean skincare brand purchase:-

I walked into Missha and left with a BB cream boomer and a BB cream – mine.

Then I walked into Laneige and left with two jars of Sleeping Pack – both mine.

After which I headed to Clio and left with a tube of concealer and three sticks of eye liners – all mine.

I also stepped into Olive Young (a Korean equivalent of Sasa/Watsons) and left with a bagful of nail polish, lip products, two more eye liners and whatnots – some gifts but mostly were mine.

The guilt only kicked in when the high eventually fizzled away and was replaced with fatigue and some sense of rationality. That was when I slapped my forehead in surprise at how much I bought. I dare not calculate how much I spent and only found out when I returned to Singapore; which led me to go on an urgent saving streak. I have not recovered from the spending yet.

Notice that I did not buy any clothes. The only clothing items I got were two knitted beanies (one with ear flaps), a knitted cardigan and a scarf. I am so thankful that I did not fall prey to Korean fashion and go all gaga over it. I would be reduced to a beggar with smooth skin and loud garish clothes.

Oh the horrors!