Things I Wish I Knew Before I Came to Korea

1. Getting skincare at the best prices:

I’m wary of buying anything that’s not from Olive Young or the store front itself because of fakes (especially around Myeongdong area) that are sold for super cheap.
*Skincare may also be mega-marked down if it has a short shelf life (check the expiration date)!

- Get an Olive Young membership!

• - Download the Korean app (global Olive Young not eligible) and make an account. You don’t need to make a purchase to activate this, but this opens up so many more member-only discounts.
• - Olive Young has big “Olive Day” sales, which are sales for their Olive Young members, on the 25-27th of every month, but even if you aren’t a member it’s still worth going! There are many sales for non-Olive members, they do lots of 1+1s, include samples, etc.

Olive Young Sales:

• - Big Bang Sale: end of August
• - Black Friday sale: all of November
• - Olive Day sale: 25-27th of every month (member-exclusive discounts)
• - Quarterly Sales Events: typically first week of March, June, September, December
• -Olive Young Picks: 1-3rd of every month, Olive Young's Pick products come with freebies and are further discounted
• -Olive Young Kit: 1st of every month until stock runs out, if members spend a certain amount, they will receive an Olive Young Kit, which includes Olive Young's Pick product samples.

2. Korean Skincare is not necessarily cheaper in Korea vs. US:

With the exception of special Olive Young sales, when I compare prices from the Korean storefronts on Amazon with Olive Young, after the currency exchange rate, there ends up not being as much of a difference. Especially with Prime Day deals in the US or Costco deals.

But if you are buying skincare brands that are not easy to find on amazon, Olive young is good for that.

3. Korea runs on Coupang:

Coupang is equivalent to Amazon, it is used for anything and everything. People get groceries delivered with Coupang, food with Coupang Eats, and even skincare, clothes, etc.

• Coupang offers a prime subscription, Coupang WOW membership, at ~8,000 won/month ($5.42), which usually pays for itself with how much you save on food delivery and member discounts.
• * Food delivery through the Coupang Eats app comes with no delivery fee for Coupang WOW members!

4. You can find literally everything in Daiso, so check Daiso first before you go to other stores like Homeplus:

Daiso has everything from laundry detergent and toilet cleaner to kitchen knives and camping tools to stationery and plushies. For cheap. At Daiso, you get what you pay for (e.g., a 5,000 won air freshener is typically better quality than a 3,000 won one).

5. SIM cards are not a must but definitely help!

You end up using your phone a lot for directions and subway transfers; data has definitely saved me when I didn’t know how to ask for help.

Lots of international students like Woori Mobile (https://www.woorimobile.kr/prepaid) because they can ship the card to your address, but you can get a pre-paid SIM card at any mobile store!

6. Climate Card Korea:

It is a pre-paid transportation card providing unlimited use of public transportation (e.g., subway, bus) and Ttareungi (Seoul Bike) in Seoul for a period of 30 days.

• If you take the bus or subway multiple times a day, this can often pay for itself.
• - With the Youth discount (ages 19-39):
• Price without Seoul Bike access: 55,000 KRW/month (~$38)
• Price with Bike access: 58,000 KRW/month (~$40)
• - Regular price:
• With Seoul Bike access: 65,000 KRW/month
• Without: 62,000 KRW/month

Official website: https://english.seoul.go.kr/policy/transportation/climate-card/

7. Sorting Trash:

You need to purchase specific trash bags (종량제 봉투: j-oh-ng-lya-ng-jeh b-oh-ng-too) based on your neighborhood; these can be bought at any convenience store or local supermarket.

Buying the neighborhood trash bags is not something to worry about if you are living in a dorm, but for those living off-campus, take note also of your trash-pickup days and times!

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