Things to buy around here
Other than technology and automobiles, Korea has a lot of goods to offer. Commerce has grown so much over the years, that you will be surprised with the ammount of things you can find and should defenetly purchase. Here are some tips:
Socks: they are good, they are pretty and they are cheap! Just take a lot of them back home, you always need socks. Also a good idea to take them as gifts to your friends and family. You can often find them walking around the streets, in tents or trucks. A pair usually cost 1 to 2 bucks.
Smarthphone Cases: Well, technology is a given around here, and more and more around everywhere. So, where everybody got a phone, there must be the double ammount of cases! Here you can find it with no trouble and a lot of variety of color, shape, texture, fabric and of course…price.The average price is about 20 bucks, which is not cheap in my opinion, but people do buy it – a lot. Some are really pretty and of course (I should hope) protect your phone.
Stationery: Koreans can be cute. And they got a lot of cute stuff. For some reason they care a lot about stationery and make the coolest and cutest things for your daily work, office or home. Also great to buy gifts, such as nice notebooks, pencil cases, beautiful cards, stickers, etc etc etc. Some examples of where to go: Morning Glory, Artbox, Hot tracks (inside Kyobo Bookstores) and so on.
Winter Gloves: If you travel a lot or come from a country with heavy winter (or just cold enough to wear gloves) or just will spend some time in korean winter (I’m sorry for that), you can easily find gloves around here. In winter, they sell them everywhere. Especially in the streets. In some places, you can find smart gloves, which means they come with special material in the fingers in order to make it possible for you to use your touchscreen phone without having to take them off. It is quite handy once you realize how cold it is and a good idea to keep your hands warm (for those of you who can’t get off your phone = most of the people around here).
Cute Protection Masks: These masks are originally used for protection during the yellow dust season (in spring), when the air gets heavy in Korea. Apparently, this bad air comes from deserts in China and makes it difficult to breath, making you cough and sneeze often. So, since people would more and more start wearing these masks, some cute nice versions of it started to show up. Other than that, some people would also wear the mask during the winter, because, oh boy, winter here is not a joke, you might as well keep your face a little warmer.
Cosmetic Masks: Another type of mask that is huge around here are the korean cosmetic masks. They are a beauty product that is supposed to moisturize and take care of your skin. Some of them help fight wrinkles, shrink pores, brighten and tighten your skin. It is recommended to use them once a week and that would help make your skin feel and look fresh. The most common is the face mask, you should put them on the fridge and wear them for 10 to 15 minutes. After, you wash your face and put on some facial lotion. There are many kinds of masks made of different things, like tea tree, cucumber, lemon, different flowers, fruits, etc. Also a nice idea for a gift to friends! You can also find hand and feet masks, as well as mask for dark circles in your eyes, nails, etc. Some places you can find those are: Innisfree, Natural Republic, Aritaum, Etude House, Face Shop, etc.
Of course there are many other things you should explore depending on your taste and interests. Because basically Korea has a lot to offer and they do a good job on finding out what people wants and get interested in. You should also find: cute cakes, cosmetics, creative stuff of all kinds, lots of clothes, shoes and so on. So, go spend some good money!
