Korean Job Discussion Forums

[taobenli]

So I went to Hongdae today to do some browsing- wanted to get some skirts, T-shirts and sandals if I saw anything I liked. I was in a store that had dressing rooms, and so I picked out a skirt and some shirts I liked and went to try them on...but was blocked by a scrawny, fake-tanned, gum-cracking clerk saying rudely "Don't try." When I asked 왜? she said that the clothes were "free size" and couldn't be tried on. There was no way these shirts were "free size" and I explained that if I coudn't try them, I wouldn't buy. She refused, and I tried to give the clothes to her and walk out, and she indicated for me to walk to the back of the store. I thought she was telling me to use the dressing rooms back there, and so I went in, and I was trying on the skirt she barged in chewing me out (in Korean of course): I told you not to try it, why did you try it anyway? The other customers have to try it on, too, you know (???so they can try it on but I can't?). I tried to stare her down and explain my position again, but finally left most of the clothes in the dressing room and went to pay for the skirt. As I was paying, she thrust the rest of the clothes at me and demanded that I buy them. I said, "I didn't try them on, and I won't pay for them" and walked out.

What bullcrap. And what a biatch. WHERE can I shop in Korea where I can actually (gasp) TRY ON the clothes so I know if they look good?

[Masta_Don]

Dongdaemun.

[Gemfinder]

Did she have a manager you could report her too?

Why would you even buy the skirt? There's tons of other places to shop, if she doesn't want your money give it to someone else.

[Luna]

[sojourner1]

Sorry to hear you're having a hard time clothing shopping. Clothing shopping sucks here, wait until you go on vacation to Guam or another real westernized country or better yet, go to an actual western country to get clothing and bring them here.

I know I need 2 pairs of Dockers, 1 pair of Levi jeans, white fruit of the loom underwear, 1 pair of good business/work shoes, and 1 pair of walking/hiking shoes such as Doc Martins, but nothing I have seen so far here appeals to me. I haven't shopped Seoul yet so my statement might be entirely inaccurate if Seoul shopping is any better than in the rest of the country. I see a bunch of crappola for sale in my experiences of looking around. Generally I sense a high tension in sales people when I walk in the door, but I still look around, because they just might have something useful. So far, I have left empty handed out of about 100 different stores in 6 months.

[amberflannery]

i've been allowed to try on clothes in dongdaemun- but i've been with my friends and they weren't. i guess it just depends.

[peppermint]

A lot of stores in Korea don't let women try on shirts. I was told by a Korean friend that it had to do with all the makeup smears that are inevitable

[taobenli]

I bought the skirt because I already had it in hand, liked it, and just wanted to get the hell out of there.

I didn't bother reporting her to the manager because it appeared to me to be a store run by infants- everyone working there looked college aged and it was just one of many cheap clothing stores by Ehwa.

Anywhere else I might try where I can try on the clothes? I have shopped at those places like Eigen Post and they have had the best dressing rooms I've seen, but their clothes are fairly boring. To my surprise, even places like Hyundai department store have crappy dressing rooms.

Annoyed...seriously, if you can't try on shirts then how do you know if they fit? If you have any chest at all, that it (and I'm not turning this into another Korean-bashing thread- plenty of Korean women are well-endowed, so how do they shop??). Even though I know my general size in the U.S. I still try everything on and look at it before buyinh.

[xenok]

a lot of stores in dongdaemun are wholesalers. so they're not that interested in selling one or two pieces, they are interested in selling to resellers in bulk (usually 10+ pieces). they will let you try it on by putting it against your shoulder at most, and they won't even have a dressing room nearby for you to use. this applies to koreans and foreigners, so don't take it too personally.

[Qinella]

[Gemfinder]

[pest2]

Hahahahaha I love hearing stories like this. Exemplies (though to a bit of an extreme) the general mood of Korean customer service.

I'd uh just taken the clothes and thrown them at her face as hard as possible and given her the finger and told her to put it where the sun dont shine as loudly as possible and walked out.

best place to shop in Korea is Japan.

[Gemfinder]

[drygoodslvc]

You could always try the GAP or AA, if you're into either of those.

[taobenli]

Yes, "archetypal rudebitch teenage clerk" indeed! After the incident, I didn't blame Koreans as a whole (that would be silly) but just though of her as a deadend biatch. It did make me feel a little frustrated about shopping in Korea in general, though. I like some of the clothes and I have lost weight recently so more of them fit me than before, but I have to make sure they fit!

American Apparel is so overpriced. GAP can be alright...I didn't know there was one in Seoul. Their clothes are boring, but if I can try things on that's good. Where is the GAP?