What to buy in Korea: Pasalubong Ideas for souvenirs, snacks and more

Whether you’re headed to Korea for a K-pop concert or to stock up on your favourite K-beauty products and Korean snacks, you’ll probably be flooded with requests from friends and family to bring something back for them.

This guide features what to buy in Korea, including Korean pasalubong suggestions that you can look out for, gifts for others, and souvenirs for your own enjoyment. We’ll also talk about the Wise card and how it can help you to stretch every peso when paying while travelling.

What souvenirs to buy in Korea

There are plenty of small trinkets, accessories and even food products to buy in Korea, so here are some ideas that can be easily found no matter which part of Korea you’re headed to - the perfect pasalubong to bring back home.

Socks

If you’re looking for something functional and useful as a gift, you’ll definitely want to consider socks. You’ll be able to shop for socks to your heart’s content in Korea, thanks to the wide range of options and cute prints. These make for great gifts since they’re mostly affordable, especially if you purchase them at the underground markets or from roadside stalls in places like Myeongdong in Seoul.

Whether you’re picking designs from Ghibli, Pokémon, Sanrio or others, you’ll be sure to find something that will tickle your fancy. Whether it’s for yourself or as a Korea pasalubong, pick up a few pairs to stuff in your suitcase.

Kimchi

Kimchi is ubiquitous to Korea, and it can make for great pasalubong if you know your friends and family enjoy eating it. There are so many different types of kimchi to choose from, such as unfermented kimchi, aged kimchi, unspicy radish kimchi and more.

You’ll be able to find kimchi, both fresh and pre-packaged, from traditional markets and supermarkets. Just make sure to pack them securely in your luggage to avoid any explosions or leakage.

What skincare to buy in Korea

K-beauty products are renowned across the world for their efficacy and for some people, a staple when thinking about what to buy in Korea. These beauty stores offer excellent service and plenty of samples to customers, so if you’ve been wanting to try some products out without purchasing a full jar or box, this is your chance.

Makeup

From foundations to BB cushions to lipsticks and contour, you’ll be able to change up your entire makeup routine in Korea if you so wish to. Best of all, you’ll be able to do it while saving a bunch of money.

Take Sulwhasoo’s Perfecting Cushion Airy foundation for example. This cushion foundation retails at 4,121 PHP at Sephora PH¹, but you’ll be able to get it for just 89,000 KRW (around 3,605.68 PHP) at Olive Young² in Korea.

And of course, there are so many smaller K-beauty brands that might not be easy to find outside of Korea, such as Glint by VDIVOV, Muzigae Mansion and more.

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 Beauty of Joseon Centella Asiatica Calming Mask sheet mask, for example. At the time of writing, you’ll pay around 145 PHP for a single piece at Watsons PH³, but you can get a 10 pack at Olive Young in Korea for just 25,000 KRW⁴ (around 1,012.83 PHP), which works out to just 101.28 PHP per sheet. If you’re buying a lot of masks to distribute to your family and friends, those savings will definitely add up quickly.

Don’t believe us? Let’s compare Round Lab’s Mugwort Calming Sheet Mask then. A single piece goes for 175 PHP at Watsons PH⁵, but that same single sheet mask will only cost 3,000 KRW (around 121.54 PHP) at Olive Young⁶. Imagine how much you’ll save if you buy 10!

What snacks to buy in Korea

Of course, you can’t forget about all the delectable Korean snacks! These are the perfect Korean pasalubong to bring home for your coworkers, friends and family while enjoying a nice discount since you don’t need to pay the shipping markup.

Seaweed snacks

Korean seaweed snacks just hit differently, with the use of different oils like perilla, sesame or avocado in the roasting process. The roasted seaweed sheets can be snacked on individually, or even crumbled up and added to a bowl of white rice to jazz up a meal.

Aside from roasted seaweed, there are also seaweed chips which are coated with a layer of glutinous rice paste and then fried for a crunchy snack. These snacks can be easily found in most supermarkets, and if you’re lucky, you might even be able to find stalls selling freshly roasted seaweed at markets.

Flavoured almonds and nuts

Korean flavoured almonds exploded in popularity 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. With flavours like cookies and cream, tiramisu, salted seaweed and even garlic bread, you’ll be able to wow your friends back home with flavours that they might never have tried before.

Save more and stretch your PHP conversions when you shop in Korea using the Wise card

Now that you’ve got your eye on a couple of things to buy from Korea, save more when you spend with the Wise card.

With the Wise card, makaka gastos ka ng 40+ currencies sa mid-market rate, kasama ang USD, SGD, GBP at JPY. Kaya, siguradong makakakuha ka ng sulit na deal sa mahigit 150+ countries. Para makapagsimula, gumawa ka lang ng libreng Wise account, mag-order ng card, at mag-top-up ng PHP.

Maaari kang mag-order ng physical card ng Wise sa halagang 369.90 PHP. Kung mayroon kang physical na card, makakagawa ka ng chip and PIN payments, at may 2 libreng ATM withdrawals na aabot sa 12,000 PHP bawat buwan.

Kapag nasa abroad ka, puwede mong piliing gumastos ng direct as PHP at hayaan mag auto-convert, o i-convert sa gusto mong currency gamit ang iyong Wise account. Kahit ano piliin mo, makukuha mo ang rate na nakikita mo sa Google, na may kasamang low, transparent fees mula 0.57%.

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1. Sephora PH | Sulwhasoo Perfecting Cushion Airy
2. Olive Young Korea | Sulwhasoo Perfecting Cushion Airy
3. Watsons PH | Beauty of Joseon Centella Asiatica Calming Mask
4. Olive Young Korea | Beauty of Joseon Centella Asiatica Calming Mask
5. Watsons PH | Round Lab Mugwort Calming Mask Sheet
6. Olive Young Korea | Round Lab Mugwort Calming Mask Sheet