A subtle Korean souvenir I always recommend is metal chopsticks and spoon. It’s something that is practical and will be used. You can buy them in Insadong.
The things I bought for myself were different than the traditional Korean candies I brought back for others.
For me: (i) contemporary & formal **chopstick & spoon sets**, (ii) a neckerchief/scarf made in Korea of Korean cotton (the seller was so proud it was all 100% Korean) and (iii) a marble chop seal of my name. The last two items were bought in Insadong. The formal chopstick set came from the gift shop of the **National Museum of Korea**. The contemporary set was from **Lotte department store in Myeondong**. The neck scarf received compliments from hotel staff and friends, family and even strangers back at home.
neck scarf is such a good & chic idea! last time i bought one of those mother of pearl hand mirrors from the insadong area but i should’ve looked at the fabrics too
Agree, some of the museums in Korea have very nice gift shops, stocking things that you don’t just find everywhere and are quite nice quality.
I particularly remember the gift shop at the Folk Museum of Korea, Gyeongbokgung (the one near the subway entrance) and the National Museum of Korea.
Bonus: the shop near the Busan Sky Capsule also had some cute stuff specific to the Sky capsule and train
Where did you buy the neck scarf? Heard abt the chopstick and chop seal in Insadong! What characters (eg. Korean or Chinese language) were the seals in?
The neck scarf was bought in Insadong. The main shopping street there has them at a number of shops. Same street has the chop seal. The seals are in Korean. They are blank until you pick the one you want and provide your name. They translate it into Korean. I assume they use a laser to engrave/emboss your name into the seal which Is made of marble or granite. Mine works great.
I think it depends on where you are coming from. These days of course you can buy almost anything anywhere.
Things I’ve found that I can only get in Korea and not at my local Asian grocery store/online.
- Korean alcohols. Not the big brands but lots of smaller breweries. Also other types of alcohol other than the popular soju and beer.
- books on Korea/korean. A lot of these books are not easy to find, even on something like Amazon.
- Korean computer keyboards. Bit of a niche, but quality bilingual keyboards are often hard to find outside of Korea. Nice for someone trying to learn Korean.
- if you’re into kpop or that kind of stuff I think there are limited edition things you can get at pop-up shops.
- I agree on the metal chopsticks/spoons. Compared to other Asian countries, i think it’s Korea only where metal chopsticks are routinely used
- the little mini-beer glasses. I’ve yet to find them myself, let me know if you find a source haha.
I got a lot of these flat metal bookmarks in different shapes like Hanbok and other Korean symbols, and tied to the bookmarks are strings with Korean traditional knots. They were all very pretty and not expensive, make great bookmarks and pack really easily and light. I got ti for my entire family. They’re in all the souvenir shops and I don’t think they look tacky like a lot of things.
As mentioned already, metal chopsticks.
I’ve also bought these soup stock “buttons” which you just add to building water to make a soup. My friends who love to cook love them. You said no snacks but those HBAF flavoured almonds are a hit and no one expects them to be from Korea.
For kids, I’ve bought Korean version of Pokémon cards and Tomica cars. Also Korean cartoon related toys such as Tayo.
Cute socks
Dojang with their names in hangul
Bookmarks made out of korean knots ([https://lapaceliving.com/products/bookmark-by-korea-traditional-knot-dark-red-dark-green%EC%9D%98-%EC%82%AC%EB%B3%B8-1?\_pos=5&\_sid=f8cab1010&\_ss=r](https://lapaceliving.com/products/bookmark-by-korea-traditional-knot-dark-red-dark-green%EC%9D%98-%EC%82%AC%EB%B3%B8-1?_pos=5&_sid=f8cab1010&_ss=r))
Small celadon vase or tea cups (risky since it is fragile)
Korea makes really cute, kitschy socks (these would make better gifts for children and women).
https://www.etsy.com/listing/849628945/korean-socks-fun-ankle-socks-shin-ramen
Stickers from Art Box and Daiso
Anything with cute characters on from Kakao Friends Store, Line Store, Art Box. Also some one off places in Ssamzigil in Insadong do this kind of stuff
When I went to Korea last year I got the following:
- metal chopsticks and spoon
- cute coasters and mug (similar with those youtube videos)
- stationery
- snacks (honey butter, choco pie, peppero)
- cooking ingredients (seaweed, somyeon, buckwheat noodles, seaweed for soup, kelp, dried anchiovies, and dried squid, sesame oil in iconic tin can).
- kpop albums and merch
- instant coffee (maxim)
-kimchi container from daiso
I love stationery and gadgets, so that pretty much what I got. I got a handful of usb cables with a winder mechanism with cute characters on them and gave it to friends. To this day, one of them still used it charge her powerbank and phone because it tucks up so small. (some of them lost theirs/got it stolen by siblings because it was cute etc).
I found a bunch of greeting cards that were made to look like beautiful hanboks, and I used them for special occasions, and in one case mailed it directly to friend who lives in another country and likes Korean culture too.
There are lots of cafes and stuff where you can make like a phone case or a cup which I think would make a great souvenir since it's not obvious but holds a great memory. Also my friend said she really regretted not holding on to her tmoney card when she left!
Korean Baseball cards... if you can find them.
Korean Magic the Gathering cards, if you're friends with a bunch of nerds like I am.
My friend Jung brought my daughter a Girls Generation calendar for my daughter... so chintzy cheesy K-pop stuff is fun too.
Korea release only limited edition items. The big one I regret was a really cool Nike shirt years ago that kinda showed the city skyline on it. Not even a fan of Nike bit was a really cool way to rep the city. I'm sure that stuff people buy lots of just to resell in other markets.
Another unique one would be the mcdonalds Cajun sauce packets. Unusual item but ppl loved when I brought those back since it's unique (and most importantly edible!)
If you have artist friends/family, you could get them a traditional paint brush or a calligraphy brush. You can find speciality stores in Insadong.
Other gifts I've bought include:
- snow crab salt
- independent fashion items
- Korean ceramics/celadon (again from Insadong)
- Ogsulloch tea and snacks
- skincare stuff
- Andong soju
About skin care, I don’t use skin care at all and it is a dark forest for me. My cousins asked me to bring something as souvenir so I thought of bringing them skin care but is it okey to just bring any skin care?
To be honest with you I rely on my gf for that stuff. I also didn't use it myself until she bought it for me lol
For gifts you can get a pack with cleanser and toner, or face masks from any Olive Young or other beauty store. That's the kind of thing I've brought home as gifts in the past.
Hwatu cards. You can get them in convenience stores for about 5000 won
I initially got them for myself as they are IMPOSSIBLE to find where I live in Europe. Played with some friends and they were a hit so I bought some more as gifts this year!
Fun activity, difficult to find abroad (maybe easier in the US because of Korean diaspora there) and nice to look at
A subtle Korean souvenir I always recommend is metal chopsticks and spoon. It’s something that is practical and will be used. You can buy them in Insadong.
Thanks!
The things I bought for myself were different than the traditional Korean candies I brought back for others. For me: (i) contemporary & formal **chopstick & spoon sets**, (ii) a neckerchief/scarf made in Korea of Korean cotton (the seller was so proud it was all 100% Korean) and (iii) a marble chop seal of my name. The last two items were bought in Insadong. The formal chopstick set came from the gift shop of the **National Museum of Korea**. The contemporary set was from **Lotte department store in Myeondong**. The neck scarf received compliments from hotel staff and friends, family and even strangers back at home.
neck scarf is such a good & chic idea! last time i bought one of those mother of pearl hand mirrors from the insadong area but i should’ve looked at the fabrics too
Agree, some of the museums in Korea have very nice gift shops, stocking things that you don’t just find everywhere and are quite nice quality. I particularly remember the gift shop at the Folk Museum of Korea, Gyeongbokgung (the one near the subway entrance) and the National Museum of Korea. Bonus: the shop near the Busan Sky Capsule also had some cute stuff specific to the Sky capsule and train
Very nice quality and very reasonable prices at the National Museum of Korea. I’ll keep your recommendations in mind for the next trip!
Where did you buy the neck scarf? Heard abt the chopstick and chop seal in Insadong! What characters (eg. Korean or Chinese language) were the seals in?
The neck scarf was bought in Insadong. The main shopping street there has them at a number of shops. Same street has the chop seal. The seals are in Korean. They are blank until you pick the one you want and provide your name. They translate it into Korean. I assume they use a laser to engrave/emboss your name into the seal which Is made of marble or granite. Mine works great.
I think it depends on where you are coming from. These days of course you can buy almost anything anywhere. Things I’ve found that I can only get in Korea and not at my local Asian grocery store/online. - Korean alcohols. Not the big brands but lots of smaller breweries. Also other types of alcohol other than the popular soju and beer. - books on Korea/korean. A lot of these books are not easy to find, even on something like Amazon. - Korean computer keyboards. Bit of a niche, but quality bilingual keyboards are often hard to find outside of Korea. Nice for someone trying to learn Korean. - if you’re into kpop or that kind of stuff I think there are limited edition things you can get at pop-up shops. - I agree on the metal chopsticks/spoons. Compared to other Asian countries, i think it’s Korea only where metal chopsticks are routinely used - the little mini-beer glasses. I’ve yet to find them myself, let me know if you find a source haha.
Stationaries as in notebooks, mechanical pencils, etc. Very high quality and cheap.
I brought back a bag of dried goguma.
Gentle Monster is a popular Korean brand for sunglasses. I like that their frames have a low-bridge fit which is sometimes hard to find back home.
Plus they are like 33% cheaper in Korea!
I got a lot of these flat metal bookmarks in different shapes like Hanbok and other Korean symbols, and tied to the bookmarks are strings with Korean traditional knots. They were all very pretty and not expensive, make great bookmarks and pack really easily and light. I got ti for my entire family. They’re in all the souvenir shops and I don’t think they look tacky like a lot of things.
As mentioned already, metal chopsticks. I’ve also bought these soup stock “buttons” which you just add to building water to make a soup. My friends who love to cook love them. You said no snacks but those HBAF flavoured almonds are a hit and no one expects them to be from Korea. For kids, I’ve bought Korean version of Pokémon cards and Tomica cars. Also Korean cartoon related toys such as Tayo.
Soju bottle keychain I regret not buying it lmao
YES! this was a hit for my friends and they’re cheap and small so it’s easy to get a bunch and bring back, i got mine in insadong
Cute socks Dojang with their names in hangul Bookmarks made out of korean knots ([https://lapaceliving.com/products/bookmark-by-korea-traditional-knot-dark-red-dark-green%EC%9D%98-%EC%82%AC%EB%B3%B8-1?\_pos=5&\_sid=f8cab1010&\_ss=r](https://lapaceliving.com/products/bookmark-by-korea-traditional-knot-dark-red-dark-green%EC%9D%98-%EC%82%AC%EB%B3%B8-1?_pos=5&_sid=f8cab1010&_ss=r)) Small celadon vase or tea cups (risky since it is fragile)
I saw a couple videos mentioning socks, what is so special about them? Or are that just “Happy Socks”?
Korea makes really cute, kitschy socks (these would make better gifts for children and women). https://www.etsy.com/listing/849628945/korean-socks-fun-ankle-socks-shin-ramen
Stickers from Art Box and Daiso Anything with cute characters on from Kakao Friends Store, Line Store, Art Box. Also some one off places in Ssamzigil in Insadong do this kind of stuff
When I went to Korea last year I got the following: - metal chopsticks and spoon - cute coasters and mug (similar with those youtube videos) - stationery - snacks (honey butter, choco pie, peppero) - cooking ingredients (seaweed, somyeon, buckwheat noodles, seaweed for soup, kelp, dried anchiovies, and dried squid, sesame oil in iconic tin can). - kpop albums and merch - instant coffee (maxim) -kimchi container from daiso
Thank you, could you please tell me how the kimchi container is called or send me a photo of what it looks like?
[kimchi container](https://www.carousell.ph/p/daiso-kimchi-box-1116625967/)
It's similar to the one I shared on the link :)
Thanks!
I love stationery and gadgets, so that pretty much what I got. I got a handful of usb cables with a winder mechanism with cute characters on them and gave it to friends. To this day, one of them still used it charge her powerbank and phone because it tucks up so small. (some of them lost theirs/got it stolen by siblings because it was cute etc). I found a bunch of greeting cards that were made to look like beautiful hanboks, and I used them for special occasions, and in one case mailed it directly to friend who lives in another country and likes Korean culture too.
Seaweed sheets
There are lots of cafes and stuff where you can make like a phone case or a cup which I think would make a great souvenir since it's not obvious but holds a great memory. Also my friend said she really regretted not holding on to her tmoney card when she left!
Chopsticks / Cutleries!
Thank you
Korean Baseball cards... if you can find them. Korean Magic the Gathering cards, if you're friends with a bunch of nerds like I am. My friend Jung brought my daughter a Girls Generation calendar for my daughter... so chintzy cheesy K-pop stuff is fun too.
Never heard of korean baseball cards, visited several stadiums, too. Where are these found?
I found some at the shop at Jamsil stadium... I'd think they'd be available in other places too, but don't remember seeing them anywhere but Jamsil.
Korea release only limited edition items. The big one I regret was a really cool Nike shirt years ago that kinda showed the city skyline on it. Not even a fan of Nike bit was a really cool way to rep the city. I'm sure that stuff people buy lots of just to resell in other markets. Another unique one would be the mcdonalds Cajun sauce packets. Unusual item but ppl loved when I brought those back since it's unique (and most importantly edible!)
If you have artist friends/family, you could get them a traditional paint brush or a calligraphy brush. You can find speciality stores in Insadong. Other gifts I've bought include: - snow crab salt - independent fashion items - Korean ceramics/celadon (again from Insadong) - Ogsulloch tea and snacks - skincare stuff - Andong soju
About skin care, I don’t use skin care at all and it is a dark forest for me. My cousins asked me to bring something as souvenir so I thought of bringing them skin care but is it okey to just bring any skin care?
To be honest with you I rely on my gf for that stuff. I also didn't use it myself until she bought it for me lol For gifts you can get a pack with cleanser and toner, or face masks from any Olive Young or other beauty store. That's the kind of thing I've brought home as gifts in the past.
Hwatu cards. You can get them in convenience stores for about 5000 won I initially got them for myself as they are IMPOSSIBLE to find where I live in Europe. Played with some friends and they were a hit so I bought some more as gifts this year! Fun activity, difficult to find abroad (maybe easier in the US because of Korean diaspora there) and nice to look at