Korean Job Discussion Forums

[nomad-ish]

does anyone have experience buying a supply of contact lens in korea?

i want to buy the proclear ones or some just like it (they are the ones that you put in this little jar with some cleaning fluid, which eventually gets neutralized to just salty water...) anyone know what i'm talking about? better yet, any advice on places to get them?

thanks

[aphase]

Yeah i buy contacts here all the time. I know what your talking about too. I have one of those. The thing where you put in the special cleaning fluid that is made up of a bit of peroxide which gets neutralized by the metallic looking disk in the bottom right? Contacts you can buy at the glasses shops obviously. The cleaner with that case, I see them in Olive Young.
Just take a empty box or whatever of which contacts you use now, and take them to the eye doctor. If they don't have exactly what you want, ask for something equivilent. Usually they'll have something, or they can order them for you. Last time I had to get mine ordered, and they sent me a text message the next day telling me that they were ready to be picked up.

[nomad-ish]

[majolica]

just a warning... i bought contacts last year. i should have known it wouldn't work when i ended up having to call a korean friend to help explain my prescription... it took them about an hour of passing the cellphone around before my friend finally told me that they didn't have my brand, and they didn't understand my eyes (i have an astigmatism). finally, they said they could get something "like" my brand, but it would take a month to arrive. by the time they arrived, it was the day before i left for vacation. i picked them up and asked if i could try them... the guy shooed me away. i tried them while i was away, but they hurt like hell and i couldn't see, so i had to wear glasses the whole time. when i got back, i went in with my friend to explain the problem, but the guy said that since i had worn them, i couldn't get a refund!
when i went home, i got my eye doctor to explain my prescription so i could try and figure out what happened. i think i finally understand what the problem was (my eyes are essentially a half size, and they only make lenses in full sizes, but the proper way to fit them is to get a trial pair and try them out). anyway, i later found out that other people have had problems with low quality lenses, and other problems if they don't have fairly standard prescriptions. at least i didn't blow a couple hundred on them like i would have at home.

[FistFace]

This is the first year that I purchased all of my contacts back home while on vacation. I had to pay for the eye exam (USA) but contacts from coastalcontacts.com cost me about $12 less per box than they do in Korea. I figured it was a good idea to get a proper eye exam anyway, as Korea's eye exams often involve little actual "exam" for eye problems. I can use the prescription for a year, so I will order another years supply just before it runs out. My contacts are Acuvue Advance, and they're now 27,000 per box in Seoul. They used to be 22,000. That is quite a jump! I come out ahead buying back home and doing the real eye exam once every 2 years.

I get them online for about 15,000 per box, or even a bit less from Sam's Club in the USA. I bought a years supply.

Acuvue II are even cheaper, but they don't seem to sell those in Korea anymore.

[aphase]

[aphase]

[Stevie_B]

I have to get my contacts sent from the UK on account of being long-sighted (far-sighted). No-one in Korea has a 'plus' prescription, apparently.