What to buy in Korea for Malaysians: Travel guide for food, souvenirs and more

South Korea is a highly popular country for tourists, with delicious food and plenty of shopping opportunities for fashionable clothing, accessories, skincare and more. If you’re planning a trip there soon, you might be wondering what to buy in Korea before returning home to Malaysia.

From skincare to snacks, this guide highlights some Korea must-buys, the costs, and tips to get the best deals during your holiday. We’ll also share more about the Wise card so you can get more value on your MYR to KRW conversions when paying.

What are some things to buy in Korea?

Whether you’re headed to the capital Seoul or other cities like Busan, Jeju or others, there will be plenty of opportunities to fill up your luggage. Be it for personal use or for the perfect souvenir from Korea, here are some of the most popular brands and products that you have to buy in Korea.

We’ll be going through some of the best Korean skincare products, snacks and apparel that you’ll want to check out, and sharing prices that you can expect to pay.

Since prices and promotions tend to change every now and then, use these numbers as a rough guide to make informed decisions when deciding what Korean souvenirs to buy.

Korean skincare products

Korea is well-known for its wide selection of skincare products, and retailers like Olive Young see hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. Not only do these health and beauty stores stock a wide variety of products, but the service is top notch, with plenty of freebies upon purchase.

Korean skincare brands have their own shops across the country as well, so if you’re a die-hard fan of a specific brand, it can be worth taking the time to visit. With the widespread popularity of Korean skincare across the globe, here are a couple of products that’ll make the ideal souvenir from Korea:

Face masks and sheet masks

When you think of sheet masks, you think of Korean brands like Mediheal, Torriden and CosRX. There are different types of masks to target different problems like dryness, redness, wrinkles and more, and you’ll be spoiled for choice in larger retailers.

Take the popular Torriden DIVE-IN sheet mask, for example. At the time of writing, you’ll pay around 15.9 MYR for a single piece at Watsons in Malaysia¹, but you can get a 5+1 pack at Olive Young in Korea for just 8,700 KRW² (around 28.37 MYR), which works out to just 4.73 MYR per sheet. Those savings will definitely add up if you’re buying a lot of masks.

Cleansers

Before you put on your sheet mask though, you want to get your face sparkly clean. Cleansers are usually divided into a few types, foam cleansers, oil cleansers, micellar water and more.

One of Olive Young’s best-selling facial cleansers is the Round Lab Dokdo Cleanser. A 150ml tube retails for 45.90 MYR at Guardian Malaysia⁴ at the time of writing, but you’ll pay just 11,700 KRW (around 38.15 MYR) at Olive Young in Korea.⁵

Serums

For that little extra boost to your skin, serums are a great idea. From brightening to hydrating and more, serums are packed with great ingredients to help our skin. Take the Innisfree Vitamin C Green Tea Enzyme Brightening Serum for example. At the time of writing, It retails at 168 MYR on the Innisfree Malaysia website⁷, but it’s going for just 26,030 KRW⁸ (around 84.87 MYR), which means you’ll be able to get a bottle for just half the price in Korea.

✈️ Flying to Korea from Malaysia soon? Check out our handy travel guide for everything you need to know when travelling to Korea

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Korean food products

Korean snacks are on another level. Choco pie, honey cookies, Pepero, honey butter chips and more delicious snacks can be found in supermarkets and Korean marts these days, but you’ll be able to get exclusive flavours and save on the import costs if you bring back these snacks yourself from Korea. Here are some things to buy in Korea to fill your tummies (and suitcases):

Flavoured almonds

Korean flavoured almonds were all the rage a few years back, particularly the honey butter flavoured ones. There are many brands out there, but the most popular would have to be HBAF, with a large flagship store in Myeongdong that offers bundle deals, variety packs and all the flavours available.

If Myeongdong isn’t on your list of places to visit, you’ll still be able to find HBAF flavoured almonds in supermarkets and convenience stores, although they might not stock every flavour.

Packaged Korean food

The thought of instant meals might not sound too appealing to those of us who like fresh meals, but nobody can deny that the convenience is unmatched. Furthermore, Korean packaged meals actually taste quite good and authentic when warmed up. One of the most popular brands around would be South Korean conglomerate CJ Group’s Bibigo, which offers a comprehensive amount of meals.

Whether it’s a piping hot bowl of samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup with glutinous rice), canned banchan side dishes or abalone porridge, these instant meals will be sure to bring you straight back to Korea.

Korean instant noodles/Ramyeon

For all the instant noodle lovers out there, it would be remiss of us to leave out Korean ramyeon. Popular brands like Samyang and Ottogi have delicious options like Buldak and Sesame Sauced Ramen, and while these can also be found in Malaysia, expect to pay less when buying them in Korea. For ramyeon fans, you can even try to find Korea exclusives that will definitely make a great gift (or supper).

Korean clothes and accessories

Looking to change up your fashion style? What better way than to get some new clothes and accessories in Korea? It’ll be cheaper than buying similar items in Malaysia, and you can even get a tax refund either at the airport or on the spot in the shop. Here are a couple of popular, fashion-related things to buy from Korea:

Sunglasses

Want to look like a K-pop star hiding away from the crowds in the airport? Check out some Korean sunglass brands like Gentle Monster and Blue Elephant which your favourite K-pop celebrities and K-drama actors have been rocking.

These products will definitely be more affordable in Japan, with Gentle Monster’s Benven 01 retailing at 1,500 MYR in Malaysia, but only 340,000 KRW (around 1,116 MYR) in Korea.

Affordable Apparel

If you’re looking for a more complete wardrobe makeover, you’ll be able to shop at various Korean brands for basics or quirky designs that you probably can’t find, or are significantly more expensive back home. You’ll find yourself saving even more at stores that offer a tax refund with minimum spend. Popular brands you’ll want to check out include Musinsa Standard, thisisneverthat, Covernat and more.

Earrings and necklaces

Jazz up your new outfits with accessories like earrings and necklaces, with shops like Sigonggan, Glow and Redeye. The products are probably cheaper than buying online, and you’ll have a blast trying on different necklaces, bracelets and more in-store before making your purchase decision.

Save even more when you spend in KRW with the Wise card

Now that you know what to buy in Korea, you probably can’t wait to get your shopping spree started. You might be more excited to know that you’ll be able to save even more if you’re spending in KRW with the Wise card.

Just top up your Wise account with MYR and all KRW payments in Korea will be automatically made with at the mid-market exchange rate with low, transparent fees from just 0.33%. Otherwise, you can convert your MYR to KRW when you find the optimal exchange rate so you can start purchasing Korean souvenirs right after landing. You’ll also be able to use the Wise card to make up some ATM withdrawals for free, unlike Malaysian credit cards that might incur transaction and conversion fees.

Hold and exchange 40+ currencies in your Wise account and use your Wise Card in 150+ countries - for your trip to Korea and wherever your travels take you..

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Sources:

1. Watsons MY | Torriden mask
2. Olive Young KR | Torriden mask
3. Olive Young KR | Mediheal mask
4. [Guardian MY | Round Lab cleanser](https://guardian.com.my/rlab-1025-dok-cln-150ml-121117455.html?page=1)
5. Olive Young KR | Round Lab cleanser
6. Olive Young KR | Beauty of Joseon cleanser
7. Innisfree MY | Green tea serum
8. Olive Young KR | Green tea serum
9. Olive Young KR | Medicube serum
10. Coupang | HBAF