Thanks for the replies.

If you are all interested then I could do a massive trip report lol.

Haha when are you going, which airline, and how much did you pay??

I want to go back, scoping out flights now

I am going December 16-21 before I head to Hong Kong. I paid like 400$ in taxes since I used my aeroplan points to get a free ticket my airlines are fucked up as a result of this (i.e. flying United Airlines, Thai Airlines, Air Canada)

DMZ Tour I hear is pretty damn cool.

I saw the flyer for dmz tour, formal clothes (no shorts sandals t shirts )
need passport and take away all your stuff including cell phone for holding, plus ID passport but thats expected

Cannot talk to locals or approach them and any action seem rude will get you an auto boot out of the tour
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^Doesn't seem that interesting to me so I left it out.

Anyone know where the Lacoste store is? Any specific malls/shopping places you guys recommend for good stuff?

i would hold off on lacoste shopping in HK. They are quite expensive in Korea.

Good stuff as in, brand goods? or Korean brand goods?

A-Land is like urban outfitters of Korea, but their quality is better. Price is high, but you will find items that is one of a kind. They have stores around most major places (Myeungdong for example)

There is a Lacoste hoody that I want that I think is only available in Korea lol.

Good stuff as in, mid-end places like Lacoste? But not Gucci etc lol. Maybe some unique Korean styles too? Theres a Uniqlo in Korea as well right? I was told to go there as well.. Is that in Myeungdong too?

Yea, I guess you can check out Lotte Stores, they mid-end to high end products there.

Myeungdong is basically the Robson of Vancouver, but with a lot more stores and places to eat. There is a Uniqlo there. Codes Combine is another Korea based shop, similar to Zara.

If you are a new balance head, you will love Korea. A lot of NB shops.

Myung-dong is also terribly easy to get lost in lol

i'd recommend checking out top 10 as well. it'll be everywhere (hongdae, myeongdong, gangnam, sinsa). it's like a more korean styled h&m/urban outfitter and is cheap to reasonable for most items.

shinsegae


also if youre really short on time and wants to get from point a to point b. take the cabs. its so cheap its ridiculous. especially if theres like 2 or 3 of you splitting a cab. i barely used my tpass except from the airport to the city

Nice, thanks for the info!

I am thinking of bringing $500 Canadian for 4 full days. That should be enough for transportation, food, and a little shopping right?

This may sound derp but theirs no taxes on goods right? Also, whats the protocol on tipping and stuff?

Most goods already include tax. I think hotels may charge a tax. Most restaurants don't, but some of the more upscale ones may charge a mandatory 10% gratuity.

Tip is uncommon, but not unheard of.

$500 is more than enough. I spent $1000 in 3 weeks lol

lol, did you live off street food haha.

Also, what sort of souvenirs did you guys see/find/buy/recommend?

No, but since I'm korean and I had friends there we went to cheaper places haha. No need to fine-dine there, IMO anyway. I bought most of the meals too :P

If you visit any of the "tourist attractions" they are usually littered with souvenir type stuff. Insadong also caters mainly to tourists and therefore carry such things.

Some things I guess can include things like tea, or little ornaments. I gave out these fancy looking chopstick things I bought at Insadong (It was like $5 for a pack) and everyone loved it. Or at least they pretended to :troll:

for those of you interested, google flight shows $752 on flight to seoul
https://www.google.ca/flights/explor...4;d=2014-02-10

Not sure if you guy's can answer this question.

But you know how if you buy stuff outside in the US or internationally, you have a quota of stuff you can bring back before it gets taxed? (duty's/taxes)

Do you guy's know if South Korea has any amount that I am allowed to bring?

They don't care. unless you bringing duty items (booze/cigs/etc)

Well, I have some gifts that I am bringing to HK where I am going after my 5 days in Korea... These may add up to $10-15,000 Canadian... Would they care? I just don't want them to be confiscated or damaged...

They do care, and they will tax you heavily.

^Any idea what the taxing % is and what amount is considered the limit?

From a very quick search from the Korean Customs website:

Personal limit is $400, must be for personal use (not commercial.)

Anything after that, expect to be taxed heavily, also depending on what it is. Browsing through the site shows me that fragrances and furs are taxed at 30% lol

Personally, if it were me, I wouldn't take $10K worth of stuff to a country I'm visiting, even if I was headed somewhere after that. The potential headaches seem immense.

Edit: Found the English version of the site - not too useful, but still "official" info: http://www.customs.go.kr/kcshome/mai...utMenuNo=21015

And a screenshot for the lulz:
http://i.imgur.com/h3TVMec.jpg

^Thanks for that.

I tried to find a contact for someone to ask more stuff in regards to this but haven't been able to find much.

I am only bringing like 1-3 items, but they are around like 8,000-10,000...I will have receipts for them too... =/