Being a shopping haven is one of the things that draw some people to Seoul, South Korea.
There are tons of places to go shopping for clothes, so you’ll find small shops just about anywhere. But, if you’re after a specific price point, many stores near each other, type, or quality, then there are specific areas you can go to.
Recommended Read: How to Get Around in Seoul
Here is an overall categorization of where you can find different categories of clothes in Seoul:
- High-end fashion and brand stores: Gangnam (강남)
- Mixed retail and brand stores: Myeongdong (명동)
- Street style + smaller stores: Hongdae + Ewha (홍대 + 이화)
- Vintage and cheapest clothes: Flea Markets and Underground Shopping Malls
While you’ll find a mix of everything in most of the areas listed above, I believe these overall categorizations describe the type of clothing stores you’ll generally find there. You can find more information on each of these locations below.
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Places to go shopping for clothes in Seoul, South Korea
Seoul has an abundance of clothing stores in a wide variety of types of stores.
If you’re looking to buy some new clothes, Seoul is a great place to be. The city is large, however, so it can be difficult to know where to go shopping.
As clothing stores are so common in the city, you can find clothing stores just about anywhere, but here is an overall generalization of what type of clothes and clothing stores you can find in various areas of the city:
Gangnam (강남) – High-end fashion and brand stores
In the area below the river, Gangnam, you’ll generally find more expensive stores. This is true for clothing stores, but also restaurants and other types of stores.
Because of this, you’ll find most of the high-end fashion and designer clothing stores like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Korea’s high-end store Miu Miu in Gangnam.
More specifically, you’ll find these high-end fashion stores in the two areas Apgujeong (압구정동) and Cheongdam (청담동), both of which are known to be trendy expensive areas.
Besides high-end fashion, you’ll also find many well-known brand stores in these areas of other areas of Gangnam, like in the Starfield COEX mall and around Gangnam station.
Mixed retail and brand stores: Myeongdong (명동)
Myeongdong is a well-known shopping area in Seoul with tons of shops packed together in several streets next to each other.
While there are far from as many stores still open in the area compared to before 2020, there are still many clothing stores there.
You’ll find a wide variety of clothing stores in Myeongdong, from large brands like Uniqlo, H&M, Nike, 8 Seconds, and Zara to smaller, independently run clothing shops that sell cheaper unique pieces.
You can find the shopping area of Myeongdong at the following address: 서울 중구 명동8길 / Myeongdong 8-gil Jung-gu, Seoul.
Street style + smaller stores: Hongdae + Ewha (홍대 + 이화)
Both Hongdae and Ewha, which are located relatively close to each other, are known to be great places to find cheaper unique pieces, with tons of stores to select from.
You’ll find both chains and smaller shops at both of these locations, and more clothing aimed towards younger people.
Hongdae especially has a wide selection of street-style clothing and is one of the most popular areas to visit for both shopping and experiencing the area.
Here are the addresses for the shopping areas of Hongdae and Ewha:
Hongdae shopping street: 서울 마포구 어울마당로 94 / 94 Eoulmadang-ro Mapo-gu, Seoul
Ewha shopping street: 서울 서대문구 이화여대3길 / Ewhayeodae 3-gil Seodaemun-gu, Seoul
Vintage and cheapest clothes: Flea Markets and Underground Shopping Malls
If you’re after the most unique pieces and the lowest prices, you should check out flea markets in Seoul and underground shopping malls.
At flea markets, you’ll find both second-hand vintage clothes as well as some new clothes.
There are a couple of flea markets in Seoul, but I recommend going to the Dongmyo Flea Market first, which is located in Dongmyo (동묘). It has a wide selection of clothes to browse.
Underground shopping malls, which are usually located inside subway stations, are areas full of smaller shops selling unique pieces for cheap prices. We’ve made an entire guide on where to buy cheap clothes in Seoul if you’re looking for that.
Far from all subway stations have underground shopping malls, but some do. The most popular one is located in the Gangnam (강남) subway station.
Other notable areas that are great for shopping that doesn’t fall into a particular category are shopping malls and around Dongdaemun.
Those are some of the best places to go shopping for clothes in Seoul!
Have any input or suggestions for this guide? Let us know in the comment section below.
