Korean Job Discussion Forums

[corinthian]

I need a pair of prescription sunglasses, and I'm wondering if anyone has gotten them in Korea. Are they any cheaper here than in the US, and are there good English-friendly places in Seoul or Bundang? Thanks!

[AsiaESLbound]

I got a pair of regular glass from the Italy Optic in Itaewon and he offered prescription sunglasses, but I didn't get them.

[fugitive chicken]

Getting glasses here are far cheaper than in the States. they go for about 40,000ish won and you leave the store with them. That said, just walk into any glasses store and they will give you a free or dirt cheap eye exam then you choose the frame you want (sunglasses or otherwise) you wait while they attach your lenses to the frame, and then you pay, and your done!

[autoseal89]

40,000 won should be about right

[Rutherford]

Getting regular glasses is very easy here but I had a hard time finding prescription sunglasses. This was in Busan.

The options were to buy a pair of name brand sunglasses (I was looking at Ray-bans) and have them put prescription lenses in for about 120,000 won. It seemed like a waste to take out the nice ray-ban lenses just for the frames.

I also could have bought a cheap pair of Korean regular frames and had sunglass lenses made, but then I would have 120,000 won lenses in a 30,000 won pair of frames that will only last a year or two.

I then bought a pair of cheaper Korean brand sunglasses that have a plastic insert which holds the prescription lens. It's a pair of sunglasses with a pair of prescription lenses clipped inside. They were around 80,000 won or so. I liked them, but the plastic of the insert kept breaking mysteriously and after having it replaced 5 or 6 times I gave up.

I then found a pair of sunglasses from Taiwan at an outdoor shop ( I believe it was OK outdoor). They're like the other pair but the insert is metal and is holding up much better. I think the frames were something like 100,000 and then I took them to an optical shop and they made the lenses for the insert for 20,000 or 30,000.

[AsiaESLbound]

[machoman]

i got prescription sunglasses. i got them in myeongdong though so i think they overcharged me, but i bargained down to 70k. i think originally he wanted 100k.

[corinthian]

Hmmm, sounds hit-or-miss. Machoman, do you remember where in myeongdong you got the glasses?

[machoman]

if you're coming from the myeongdong subway exit and walk down the main strip, you'll have to turn left at some point to get to the uni qlo, i *THINK* it's on the same street as uni qlo, just walk down a bit further and it should be on the left corner.

but, i wouldn't suggest going there, i think they overcharged me. you can probably get a better deal at another eyeglass shop that's not located in a touristy shopping district.

[Louis VI]

Go polychromatic: sunglasses outside when sunny, changing to regular glasses when inside or on heavy cloudy days. Cool teacher walks into class and nerdy professional teacher begins class half an hour later. I call them my superman/clark kent glasses. They are only a couple of man won extra for the feature.

[corinthian]

Do the polychromatic ones really work? I have very sensitive eyes and I usually need pretty strong sunglasses, so I've always been afraid those wouldn't be strong enough. Plus I only need my glasses for distance, like when I'm driving or something, so I've never really needed them indoors.

[blackjack]

LASEK never worry about glasses again

1.8 million won

[corinthian]

I only need glasses for long distances. It's really not a problem and 95% of the time I don't wear glasses, my vision isn't that bad. LASIK is really not worth it to me. I just figured, if there are cheap prescription sunglasses here, I'd grab some for driving.

[DorkothyParker]

I spent 65k for the regular sunglasses on sale and 80k for them to put prescription lenses in. These are the very stylish oversized style and the lenses are a pretty pink. I think they are worth the price.

I don't know about English speaking, but both I and the salesman got by with what little we had.