What to bring from Korea: an overview of gifts and souvenirs

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

The best way to remember a city or country is to buy something that reminds you of your trip. A souvenir is considered not only an opportunity to remember a place, but also an ideal gift for family, loved ones and colleagues. If you are wondering what to bring as a gift to your loved ones while in South Korea, this article will help you make the best choice! There are many wonderful souvenirs that anyone can take home from their trip to Seoul.

What to bring from Korea

Cosmetics ranks first among gifts brought from South Korea. Because every modern woman wants to look like a Korean superstar.

And if you want to learn more about the traditional culture of the country, then beautiful Hanji paper products will be able to tell you a lot about the craftsmanship and wisdom of Koreans.

Korean cosmetics

In this article, we will analyze what to bring from Korea. Cosmetics will definitely be a welcome gift for womenaround the world. And if you are thinking about what you can bring from Korea as a gift for your wife or girlfriend, then you can buy cosmetics with confidence.

It is worth choosing lipstick, lip gloss, foundation, mascara, eyeliner, eyeshadow and so on.

But if you are asking yourself the question of what is better to bring from Korea as a gift from cosmetics, then the recommendation of experienced travelers will be BB and CC creams, which are of good enough quality and are very popular now.

If you don't know anything about brands, then just go for the most popular ones: Innisfree, The Face Shop, Etude House, Tonymoly, Missha, Laneige and Skinfood.

This is the best gift for yourself, wife, girlfriend, daughter.

Cost: 5-50 US dollars (from 300 to 3000 rubles).

Where to buy: beauty and he alth stores, department stores, duty-free shops.

Korean face masks

Korean beauty masks deserve their own place on the gift list because they are amazingly cheap and do wonders for the skin.

Masks are actually sheets of gel, paper or cloth that contain natural ingredients to nourish the skin.

Come in different versions and usually in packages of 5 to 10 pieces. So don't ask yourself what to bring from Korea, but buy them, the ladies will certainly be very grateful.

The best gift for yourself, wife, girlfriend, daughter.

Cost: 8-40 USD per pack (from 500 to 2500rubles).

Where to buy: beauty salons, he alth and beauty stores, department stores, duty-free shops.

Traditional Korean tea

Traditional Korean tea is simply a divine drink made from the dried parts of he althy plants such as peppermint leaf, citrus flower, plum fruit and ginseng root. Grains, beans and seeds are also often used in Korean tea art.

If you include a trip to a traditional Korean tea house in your itinerary, you will probably fall in love with this drink quickly. So why not surprise your loved ones with the divine taste of Korean tea?

The best gift for tea lovers.

Cost: 12-42 US dollars (from 800 to 3000 rubles).

Where to buy: supermarkets, grocery stores.

Packed and fried seaweed

Jim is the Korean version of nori. These dried seaweeds are delicious and are known to have many he alth benefits.

Jim is usually seasoned with s alt and sesame oil. Seaweed can be eaten straight out of the package or wrapped around rice for a delicious taste.

According to an old Korean tradition, jim seaweed is often given as a gift during the Korean Thanksgiving and Lunar New Year. In today's world, this is the most popular souvenir that most travelers bring home from Korea.

This dry food is widely available in supermarkets andgrocery stores, making it an easy choice if time for souvenir shopping is limited and the question of what to bring back from Korea for food is relevant.

The best gift for everyone.

Price: $4 for packs of 6 to 10 pieces (about 300 rubles).

Where to buy: supermarkets, grocery stores.

Cute socks

Do you have children? Buy them some cute pairs of animal and cartoon socks.

No kids? Buy a pair of "Oppa" socks for those who love to dance. Or gift Donald Trump socks to someone who is a fan of the new US president.

There are hundreds of thousands of options, from cute to crazy. Now the question of what to bring from Korea as a gift can be considered closed.

If you are going to explore Korea's popular shopping areas, you will definitely find these socks along with other popular souvenirs. They even have vending machines in Seoul!

Best gift for kids, teens, young friends and colleagues.

Price: US$1 per pair (about 65 rubles).

Where to buy: any mall.

Korean ginseng

Ginseng is known for its many he alth benefits. It is said that Korea grows the highest quality in the world due to the country's climate and geography.

There are basically three kinds of Korean ginseng that can be found in the market:

• susam;
• baeksam;
• hunsam.

If you are not familiar with traditional Asian medicine, you can buy ginseng containing products such as tea, lozenges, etc.

Best gift for family and close friends.

Price: $60 for 600 grams of natural ginseng (about 4,000 rubles) or $3 for tea with its addition (about 200 rubles).

Where to buy: supermarkets, duty-free shops.

Original Korean Young Artists

For art lovers, there will be a treasure trove of unique works by emerging Korean artists on your list at Hongdae Free Market, after reading them, you will immediately find the answer to the question of what to bring from Korea as a gift.

You can choose from interesting handmade items, unique jewelry, wood carvings and watercolor paintings. Buying them is a great way to support young local artists. A little conversation with a creative person can give you a compelling story about the purchase, which will be interesting to retell during the presentation of the souvenir.

Shopping in Korea's markets is always accompanied by delicious food and a lively atmosphere created by the public performances of local musicians. The famous handicraft market Hongdae is located in the city of Seoul and is open every Saturday (from March to November). Walking through this market, every tourist will understand what souvenirs to bring from Korea to their loved ones.

Best gift for loverscontemporary art, family and close friends.

Price: $5 and up (from 350 rubles).

Where to buy: Hongdae Free Market, 19-3 Wazan-ro 21-gil, Seogye-dong, Ma-gu-gu, Seoul.

Practical Hanji Goods

The word "hanji" refers to traditional Korean handmade paper made from mulberry bark. This type of durable paper is used to make various things such as wallpaper, lamps, boxes, hand fans and stationery.

A hanji doll for a little girl? A hanji picture frame for a friend? What could be better than a useful souvenir that carries the culture of the people in itself?

There are several Hanji craft shops in Seoul where you can learn how to make various things with this material. Why not try and get rid of the question of what is better to bring from Korea? You can give a loved one, for example, a finished ship made by yourself. There is nothing more unique!

Best gift for family and friends.

Price: from 1 US dollar and above (from 65 rubles).

Where to buy: Hanji Chueok, Insadong District, Jeongju Cultural Center.

Cute smartphone cases

In Korea, as you know, not only smartphones themselves are produced, but also accessories for them. Koreans love unique and beautiful things, so you can find a huge selection of phone cases in any outlet.

By purchasing the original"Clothes" for the phone as a souvenir to a loved one, you will no longer think what you can bring from Korea. Choose the design you like best and buy a smartphone case for yourself and your close friends.

Best gift for teens, family, friends and colleagues.

Cost: 8-25 US dollars (from 500 rubles).

Where to buy: everywhere.

Teokbokki fried rice cake

Tteokbokki is the most popular snack in Korea. Taukbokki is made from rice and seasoned with a spicy sweet sauce.

Such a snack is a great gift for friends and colleagues who cannot live without chips and other spicy food. These handy edible souvenirs can easily fit in a box in every traveler's luggage.

By buying teokbokki, you will stop thinking about what to bring from Korea to your loved ones.

The best gift for family, friends and colleagues.

Cost: 2 US dollars (from 130 rubles).

Where to buy: supermarkets, grocery stores.

Conclusion

South Korea today attracts travelers from all over the globe, and the country's popularity is growing every year. And this is not surprising, because the country has not only a variety of recreation options for tourists, but also a huge number of souvenir shops, the range of which will surprise even the most sophisticated travelers. The country has a huge number of free trade shops, entire districts and even quarters, large centers and galleries, in which everyone will find a gift for any occasion.taste and wallet.

And at the end of this article, I would like to say that South Korea has a Tax-free system, namely, when buying various goods in the country in the amount of 30,000 KRW, 10% VAT is returned. If purchases were made in stores with the Global Blue logo, then it is enough for a tourist to ask the employee at the checkout for a special form in which they will need to enter their personal data and put a stamp at customs upon departure, showing goods purchased in the country in intact packages as proof.

Tax-free counters are located at the capital's Incheon and Gimpo airports, as well as at the Daegu airport. If the VAT amount does not exceed 3,000,000 KRW (in Gimpo - 177,000 KRW), cash will be issued to the tourist directly at this counter. Otherwise, stamped Tax-free receipts will need to be sent to the Global Blue office by registered mail and wait for the transfer of funds to a bank card.