Supermarket Shopping In Seoul: Lotte Mart/ E-Mart/ Home Plus/ PIERROT

Supermarket is a place to get Authentic snacks in good quality and also great prices.

I am not really a fan of stores that put out their snacks under the sun at some of the tourist places. Or places with no fixed prices, you have to know the market price in order not to get scam.

Most supermarket do allow tax refund with minimum purchases of 30000 won, not including perishable.  However, they are a handful that does not do tax refund. For example, the homeplus at world cup stadium.

Do take note the supermarkets are closed on some Sundays.

Bring your own recyclable bags or buy one from the supermarket. Get the recyclable ones as Some of them have bags with nice designs and are really durable. I like the Emart ones.  

All the supermarket provide boxes, scissors and tapes for you to pack your items if you do not have a bag and do not want to buy one. You can pack a box of items for check in too if your airline allow more than one piece of check in and you do not have enough luggage space. 

This is the standard packing station

Most of the supermarket provide boxes. You can buy a recycable bag and reuse it. The price is around 1000 - 3000 won. I find it really worth it as it is good quality and cute. It can be reuse multiple times and use to carry heavy items. The last 2 bags with bear is from Daiso. Daiso Korea has a different range of items from Daiso Japan and Singapore. It is worth a visit

1. Lotte Mart

The most popular Supermarket in Seoul will be Lotte Mart at Seoul Station Exit 1.

There is a lots of human traffic, if you don't know what to buy for your friends and families. You can just follow the crowd. There is a lot of samples to test so you will know what to buy back. Easily accessible as it is just at Seoul station. There is a mini Daiso inside. They sell fresh food, fruits, Snacks, beauty products including Face shop  and also some household items.

There are too many people that you may have difficulties moving around.The selection of items may not be as extensive as the other other marts I will be talking about.

Please take note that the Lotte Mart at Myeongdong is different from the one at Seoul STation. It is a smaller and more classy version. The selection of items are much much lesser.

2. E MART

The E mart is located at Yongsan subway station Line 1. 

It is located at the basement of the I'PARK mall. 

It is also near the famous Dragon Hill Spa.

The supermarket has 2 levels.

They have the greatest range of items including fresh food, fresh food, snacks, beauty products, some beauty products like Innis free, toys, clothes and stationery.

This is not really crowded as is mainly locals.

Home Plus

We visit the one at Hapjeong Station

This bigger that Lotte Supermarket but smaller than E Mart

They sell fresh food, snacks, stationery, electronics, household products and also clothes.

There is a good selection of products other than snacks, you can find Pokemon, BT21, Line and Kakao items. To me, they seems cheaper than the official store and have a different selection. 

It is very spacious and quiet. Very relaxing to shop here.

 4. Pierrot Shopping

It is know as the Don Don Donki of Korea. There is great selection of snacks, not just from Korea but Asia. They have some snacks that looks like some famous Japanese snacks. And you cant find them in the other supermarkets.  They also sell a lot of miscellaneous items like Electronics, stationery and clothes. If you are in Korea for a long time and miss Asia food. They do sell Indo Mie and Hao di Lao. They do not sell fresh food but have a lot of snacks
Take exit 6 and walk all the way down (do not need to cross the road) for like 5-10 mins. It will on your left.

Personally, I prefer Home plus and emart. There are less traffic so you can shop peacefully. They have a great selection of stationery, clothes and other products.

Seoul free and easy:Seoul Bamdokkaebi Night Market Banpo Romantic Moonlight Market HAn river Rainbow Bridge

There is a few market for the Seoul Bamdokkaei Night Market. 

We went to the Banpo Romantic Moonlight Market as it was by the Han River and the Rainbow bridge. From the night market, you can see the skyline of seoul and the Seoul Tower.

This market is only available from April 5 to 27 October. More of a Spring to Summer to Early Autumn. We were there in mid June. The weather is still cool in the evening and not humid. This market is not available everyday, just on Friday and Saturday Evening.

We was a bit lost while walking from the train station but we manage to find our way there and was in time to catch the sunset.  It is spectacular.

There are food trucks and quite a variety of food is available, fried chicken, grilled seafood, pizza, pasta, Thai food, drinks, beef cubes and a lot more. There are around 20 trucks. There is a queue for food, maybe around 10-15 minutes. There is a lot of locals sitting by the river enjoying food and the sights. We bought food and sat by the Han River like the locals. The food is around 5000-10000won for one. It is relaxing and interesting to sit beside the river, enjoying the breeze and the view while enjoying good food. 

You can bring your own picnic mat or food too.

After a tiring day walking  and shopping and sightseeing around Seoul, this is a good place to chill out and rest.

You can walk over to the other side of the river for our other beautiful spots.

Queuing to throw away the rubbish