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The lack of blogging these past two weeks signifies that I am home now. There's still thoughts to be processed and reflections to be made, but I don't know why I didn't blog earlier. Immediately coming home I did have a few responsibilities to prepare for, but lately, life seems to be a bore now that my travel plans have completed.
Before I go further, there are a few tips I've been wanting to share that will help you to save money and possibly even make life easier while staying in Seoul/Korea.
1.Global Tax Free
At certain stores you will notice the orange circle stickers/signs with "GLOBAL TAX FREE" in white uppercase font. This means if you purchase 30000 W (~$30 US) or more in one purchase, you are eligible to receive tax back when leaving any major airport in Seoul. For the longest time, I thought Korea didn't have tax as prices are always in whole numbers, but that's because they factor it in and it's actually 9%. However, you don't get the full amount back, its a general amount they give depending how much you spent. For example, for 30000W spent you get 2500 W back, for 50000W or more, you receive 3300W back and so on and so forth.
You MUST NEED:
-a receipt for you to fill out (request at point of purchase) + instructions on what to do at the airport (factor in a little bit more time at the airport in case there's a lineup)
-may need to show your purchases at the airport so pack them in an easy to reach place
This tax free perk is usually at department stores (Hyundai/Lotte) and makeup stores, but I found out during my last free days in Seoul that even Homeplus, the Korean equivalent of a giant supermarket like the Canadian Superstore offers this too! So if you are on somewhat of a long visit and plan to buy groceries/snacks or what not, this is a great way to save spending more at one time. Unlike us, we would make multiple trips to Homeplus for the littlest things and realized we would've been able to receive tax back if we had bought more at once.
**If you choose to get your tax back right away (which you can at Lotte and at certain locations in Seoul), they take your credit card number as a 'safety deposit' in case you don't leave the country, so make sure to present your receipt at the airport to prove you are leaving so they CANCEL this amount on your credit card... or else you end up getting charged more than you were eligible to receive.
2.Subway Transfers
Having spent an extended time in Seoul twice now, I've come to have a love hate relationship with walking. I enjoy it above ground, but I despise it when it has to do with subway transfers. I use to get off the exact station my directions would tell me to go to (ex. Anguk exit 6 to go to Insadong), but I realize if you are coming from a line that may take a few transfers to get to that destination, make it easier on yourself to get OFF at a station nearby/on a different line and just walk. Usually the walk isn't very long and you be surprise at how small Seoul is despite the multitude of subway stops there are.
For me and my friends, it felt like a pain to transfer from the green to the light blue line to get to 'Myeongdong' so we always got off at Eulgiro-3-ga (green) line and just walked. Myeongdong is also a large enough place that it covers more space than the dot on the subway map, so you just start from a different point (which is also beneficial to avoid masses of tourists) plus it was much more convenient for us. AND, if you do ever get lost (which you probably will), see it as a discovery to places and sights you would never have notice before if you were underground.
3. No Inflation
I suppose this is a tip if you are planning to return to Korea down the road as I realize all the costs I remembered from twos ago were the same. I love that! Not only is there no tipping culture at Korean restaurants and cafes, prices stay fairly the same. Even the subway charge was the same for my T-money card as well.
Having traveled Southeast Asia prior to, I now know Korea prices are higher, but still very affordable for such a fast pace and advance technology thriving nation.
That is all for now, I will add to this as I think of more!
Before I go further, there are a few tips I've been wanting to share that will help you to save money and possibly even make life easier while staying in Seoul/Korea.
1.Global Tax Free
At certain stores you will notice the orange circle stickers/signs with "GLOBAL TAX FREE" in white uppercase font. This means if you purchase 30000 W (~$30 US) or more in one purchase, you are eligible to receive tax back when leaving any major airport in Seoul. For the longest time, I thought Korea didn't have tax as prices are always in whole numbers, but that's because they factor it in and it's actually 9%. However, you don't get the full amount back, its a general amount they give depending how much you spent. For example, for 30000W spent you get 2500 W back, for 50000W or more, you receive 3300W back and so on and so forth.
You MUST NEED:
-a receipt for you to fill out (request at point of purchase) + instructions on what to do at the airport (factor in a little bit more time at the airport in case there's a lineup)
-may need to show your purchases at the airport so pack them in an easy to reach place
This tax free perk is usually at department stores (Hyundai/Lotte) and makeup stores, but I found out during my last free days in Seoul that even Homeplus, the Korean equivalent of a giant supermarket like the Canadian Superstore offers this too! So if you are on somewhat of a long visit and plan to buy groceries/snacks or what not, this is a great way to save spending more at one time. Unlike us, we would make multiple trips to Homeplus for the littlest things and realized we would've been able to receive tax back if we had bought more at once.
**If you choose to get your tax back right away (which you can at Lotte and at certain locations in Seoul), they take your credit card number as a 'safety deposit' in case you don't leave the country, so make sure to present your receipt at the airport to prove you are leaving so they CANCEL this amount on your credit card... or else you end up getting charged more than you were eligible to receive.
2.Subway Transfers
Having spent an extended time in Seoul twice now, I've come to have a love hate relationship with walking. I enjoy it above ground, but I despise it when it has to do with subway transfers. I use to get off the exact station my directions would tell me to go to (ex. Anguk exit 6 to go to Insadong), but I realize if you are coming from a line that may take a few transfers to get to that destination, make it easier on yourself to get OFF at a station nearby/on a different line and just walk. Usually the walk isn't very long and you be surprise at how small Seoul is despite the multitude of subway stops there are.
For me and my friends, it felt like a pain to transfer from the green to the light blue line to get to 'Myeongdong' so we always got off at Eulgiro-3-ga (green) line and just walked. Myeongdong is also a large enough place that it covers more space than the dot on the subway map, so you just start from a different point (which is also beneficial to avoid masses of tourists) plus it was much more convenient for us. AND, if you do ever get lost (which you probably will), see it as a discovery to places and sights you would never have notice before if you were underground.
3. No Inflation
I suppose this is a tip if you are planning to return to Korea down the road as I realize all the costs I remembered from twos ago were the same. I love that! Not only is there no tipping culture at Korean restaurants and cafes, prices stay fairly the same. Even the subway charge was the same for my T-money card as well.
Having traveled Southeast Asia prior to, I now know Korea prices are higher, but still very affordable for such a fast pace and advance technology thriving nation.
That is all for now, I will add to this as I think of more!
Labels: Seoul, Travel Reflections
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