Korea is a great shopping destination. Visitors can enjoy the luxury department stores,

or visit the lively shopping areas of Myeongdong or Dongdaemun shopping town.

Another enjoyable shopping experience is a trip to Korea’s supermarkets.

In these spacious buildings you can pick up any daily essentials you need while you are

in Korea, as well as fresh, high-quality groceries. The large supermarket complexes often

 include restaurants, bookstores and even movie theatres, so you could spend a relaxing

 day here. Currently, there are approximately 300 supermarkets throughout Korea, many

of which are open 24 hours a day. You can find almost anything you need at Korea’s

supermarkets, they’re even a good place to pick up memorable souvenirs.
☞ Click here to see the ‘What to Buy When Shopping in Korea’ Column

The ‘Lotte’ brand is famous for Lotte World Amusement Park and the Lotte Department

Stores, but its supermarket chain, , is also very popular.  It currently has 63

locations nationwide. Lotte Mart has a wide selection of merchandise, such as groceries,

living essentials, famous brand name fashion products, and more.

For store locations and transportation information, please visit the homepage

or call the travel information line (+82-2-1330 English, Chinese, Japanese). 
Homepage: http://company.lottemart.com/main.jsp (Kor)

Lotte World Amusement Park Branch
The Lotte Mart supermarket at Lotte World is located

 near the Lotte Hotel and Lotte World Adventure.

It is very popular with families since the complex

includes the internationally renowned toy store, Toys

“R” Us. The supermarket, which is spread over six

floors, sells daily essentials, fresh groceries,

electronic products, and more.

Seoul Station Branch
The popular Seoul Station branch is located in one of

 Korea’s major transport hubs, and is therefore

frequently visited by foreigners. Seoul Station is home

to the KTX (Korea’s high-speed railway), and many trains,

 subway lines, and buses meet here. Visitors can easily

make a quick stop at Lotte Mart while waiting for their

trains. The Seoul Station Branch covers three floors

and offers a variety of merchandise such as groceries,

                                                                daily essentials, and fashion goods. 
                                                               

Gangbyeon Branch
The Gangbyeon branch was the first Lotte Mart supermarket.

 It is located in Technomart, the electronics superstore,

which also contains the 11 cinema CGV movie theater,

a large bookstore, a food court, and other convenience

facilities. The Gangbyeon Lotte Mart supermarket sells

groceries, daily essentials, and entertainment and home

interior products.  The store is located on the second floor

basement of the Technomart building.
                                                            

Merchandise

Lotte Mart stocks groceries, daily essentials, sporting goods, clothes, entertainment products,

 electronics, and much more. Furthermore, Lotte Mart holds various events and sales where

 you can purchase high-quality Korean brand name items at surprising low prices.

E-mart was Korea’s first supermarket chain; it opened in 1993 and now has over 120 stores

nationwide.  E-Mart has stores located near to Korea’s airports, so that Korea’s tourists can

shop easily and conveniently.

For store locations and transportation information, please visit the homepage or call

the travel information line (+82-2-1330 English, Chinese, Japanese).
Homepage: http://emart.shinsegae.com/(Kor)

Gimpo Airport Branch
The Gimpo Airport branch of E-mart is located inside the

 Gimpo Airport complex, and it is the largest branch of

E-mart in Korea. The 3-storey store sells a large variety of merchandise, including groceries, fashion apparel,

accessories, and much more. Right next door to E-mart is

 a movie theater, shopping mall, and theme park.

Yangjae Branch
The Yangjae branch of E-mart sells high quality foods such

 as specialty wines, organic produce, cheese, and

imported food. Spread across the spacious first floor of the

 building, visitors can find groceries, fashion apparel,

accessories, cosmetics, jewelry, various daily essentials,

 home appliances, and more

Incheon Airport Branch
This E-mart is located near to Incheon International airport

inside the international business complex of the shopping

 mall, AIRJOY. As well as enjoying great shopping, visitors

 to E-mart can check out the nearby museum, food court,

and airport observatory. This is therefore a popular

destination for many foreign tourists.
 

Available Goods
E-Mart sells a variety of merchandise including groceries, daily essentials, sporting goods,

fashion apparel and accessories, electronics, and much more. Popular products for foreign

tourists include Korea’s famous alcohol, soju, gim (dried seaweed laver), w traditional teas.

E-mart has very reasonable prices, and these products make great souvenirs.
☞ Traditional Liquors and Wines
☞ Gim (dried seaweed laver)
☞ Traditional Teas

Home plus is a warehouse type discount supermarket with very reasonable prices. 

It has over 65 branches nationwide. 

For store locations and transport information, please visit the homepage or call

travel information line (+82-2-1330 English, Chinese, Japanese)
Homepage: http://company.homeplus.co.kr/(Kor)

Dongdaemun Branch
The Dongdaemun branch of Home plus is located a mere

20 minutes away from Dongdaemun Marketplace Shopping

 Town. This branch has a particularly large home appliances

 section with over 1,500 high-quality Korean home

appliances. It also has a children’s fashion clothing store,

food court, and more.

World Cup Branch
The World Cup branch is located inside the Sangam-dong

Seoul World Cup Stadium.  Spread over the basement to the

 second floor, it has a wide range of groceries and other

merchandise.  It is located next to a fashion mall,

entertainment center, and other convenience facilities.

The branch is conveniently located as it is directly connected

 to exit 1 of the World Cup Stadium station on subway line 6.
 

Jamsil Branch
Home plus is the only supermarket in Jamsil that is open

24hrs a day.  It sells a variety of goods including groceries,

daily essentials, home appliances, and much more. This

shopping complex has many convenience facilities, and it is

spread over five floors, from B2 to the third floor.

Home plus offers a similar selection of goods to Lotte Mart and E-Mart. Home plus however has

 a particularly large home appliance section, so this is a good place for tourists to pick up

high-quality Korean electronics.
 

America’s mega warehouse wholesale store, Costco, opened its first Korean branch in 1994,

and it now has 6 branches nationwide. Although Costco requires you to pay an annual

membership fee, customers may purchase products in large quantities at low wholesale prices.

  Costco stocks many famous international brands of foods and drink.   

For store locations and transport information, please visit the homepage or call the

travel information line (+82-2-1330 English, Chinese, Japanese).
Homepage: http://www.costco.co.kr/eng/index.htm (Kor)

Yangjae Branch
The Yangjae branch of Costco opened in 2000 and is the

largest branch of Costco. This branch offers a variety of

domestic products, imported goods, and its own brand (PB),

Kirkland, at wholesale prices. Costco’s most popular items

are fashion apparel, fresh meats, wine, and frozen goods.

The store is extremely popular with Koreans and foreigners

 alike. 

Costco sells a variety of goods, such as groceries, daily essentials, sporting goods, fashion

apparel, electronics, furniture, and more. Customers especially appreciate Costco for its

high-quality yet inexpensive goods. Other facilities include the 1-hour photo service, and the

delicious food court that sells pizzas, hot dogs, and more.