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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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steveohan
Joined: 24 Apr 2005
Location: Seoul, South Korea
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 Posted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 6:42 pm Post subject: Apple Store in COEX mall |
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i heard recently that the apple store in COEX mall closed down. is this true???
i need to pick up a new keyboard for my mac, but i dunno if the store in the ET Land building Yongsan will have any.
can anyone confirm the apple store coex is closed?
thanks!
steve. |
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unplugged_boy
Joined: 17 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 7:32 pm Post subject: |
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| its closed |
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ARTCC
Joined: 26 Dec 2003
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| Posted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 9:29 pm Post subject: |
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| There are several Apple-related stores in Chungmuro and in Sinsa station area. Do a search for "매킨토시" on Naver and you'll come up with a bunch. |
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ARTCC
Joined: 26 Dec 2003
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| Posted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 9:30 pm Post subject: |
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| Should have mentioned first time I posted - the one in ET Land Yongsan is gone too, I believe ... |
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seoulsucker
Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Location: The Land of the Hesitant Cutoff
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| Posted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 9:47 pm Post subject: |
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| Macs are the second leading cause of smug in the world, after hybrid cars. |
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zappadelta
Joined: 31 Aug 2004
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| Posted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 11:15 pm Post subject: |
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| There's an Apple Experience store in Myeongdong as well. |
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JongnoGuru
Joined: 25 May 2004
Location: peeing on your doorstep
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| Posted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 11:29 pm Post subject: |
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| ARTCC wrote: |
| Should have mentioned first time I posted - the one in ET Land Yongsan is gone too, I believe ... |
Good riddance, if it's the place I'm thinking of.
| zappadelta wrote: |
| There's an Apple Experience store in Myeongdong as well. |
Been there? Does it compare with the one at Coex?
And this, from a foreigner in Korea:
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I was just about to buy a Mini anyway here before I left the country to go on a long vacation, despite the formerly inflated prices for Apple gear here. Hopefully the price drop will come into effect in time (I leave in 2 weeks). The Korean Apple Store is down - I can't really read the message but presumably they're updating it with new prices/marketing messages.
I'm glad Apple is finally doing something about their horrible marketing in Korea. Koreans would go ape s**t over their products if they knew how good they were. I teach English to elementary and middle-schoolers here and they're all extremely fashionable. Most middle-schoolers (and many elementary students) have cellphones AND iRiver MP3 players. The couple of times I've mentioned iPod I get a blank stare.
Of course, nobody has a Mac in Korea either - and Korean websites rarely work at all on a Mac browser. At least the fonts show up right...
There is a tiny Apple store at the edge of downtown with one person working there, that takes too long to get new products and charges too much for them when they do. I remember waiting interminably for Panther - they always told me, "next week, next week..." I was amazed when they got it. The box had no Korean on it save for a paper insert inside the shrinkwrap - it was directly imported from the U.S.
Apple Korea is right to have a sense of urgency over the MP3 market - whoever has been running the show for the last few years has been dead asleep at the wheel. |
And this from another:
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Apple doesn't seem to have any marketing presence here, and yes, I think that's the main reason for Koreans' indifference towards the brand.
Also, while Korea is a style-conscious country, it is less so than Japan, I believe. Koreans haven't been as rich, or for as long, as the Japanese and don't have quite the rich palette of consumer tastes. Most Koreans are satisfied with whatever Samsung or LG serves them up, and if it's a PC, so be it.
For the record, my fridge, A/C, stove, washer, microwave and LCD panel are Samsung, and my TV, humidifier, and, yes, kitchen table/chairs are LG.
Korea is also more rough around the edges than Japan, and out-of-order or unseemly equipment and facilities are tolerated. I suppose that constant virii and spyware go in that category. ;-
Before I ramble on with further speculation, though, I think it's only understandable that Koreans don't buy Macs when, in my city of 2 million people, there is one tiny Apple reseller with a staff of one that, as of today, has a fading banner of the old "desk lamp" iMac G4 atop its dingy facade. Their website is an embarassing mix of new and outdated product references - definitely nothing hip about it: http://www.jongromac.co.kr/
I stopped by there today with a friend, to check if they a) had the iPod Mini and b) had caught wind of the price drop. They were closed (probably one of the very few stores not open on a Sunday), but did have a poster in their window announcing the price drop on the Mini from 354,000 won to 310,000 won.
That's good enough for me. I'm going to cross my fingers that I can pick one up tomorrow, before the week-long Lunar New Year holiday... |
(This info is outdated, clearly.)
Last edited by JongnoGuru on Mon Aug 21, 2006 11:38 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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cheem
Joined: 18 Apr 2003
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| Posted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 11:34 pm Post subject: |
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| I've got an extra Apple usb keyboard lying around that I'll sell you for 10k + shipping if you're interested. |
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JongnoGuru
Joined: 25 May 2004
Location: peeing on your doorstep
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| Posted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 11:35 pm Post subject: |
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| cheem wrote: |
| I've got an extra Apple usb keyboard lying around that I'll sell you for 10k + shipping if you're interested. |
SOLD! (were you serious? I need an extra one. there's just the one model, right?) |
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cheem
Joined: 18 Apr 2003
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| Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 12:28 am Post subject: |
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| Yes, I'm serious. I've plugged it in once (like an hour ago to check if it's working), but it's second-hand so it's in good, but not mint, condition. I think there's this model and a wireless version so if you go to the Apple website you should be able to see what you're getting. If you pm me your shipping address I'll send it off to you tomorrow. |
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zappadelta
Joined: 31 Aug 2004
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| Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 12:33 am Post subject: |
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zappadelta wrote:
There's an Apple Experience store in Myeongdong as well.
Been there? Does it compare with the one at Coex? |
Yea, been there, it's about half the size of the one in COEX. Also, Linkos in COEX sells some Apple stuff too, they have a little Apple stand inside the store. |
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endo
Joined: 14 Mar 2004
Location: Seoul...my home
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| Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 2:50 am Post subject: |
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Where exactly is the one in Myongdong?
I've been there twoce this month and couldn't find it. |
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KumaraKitty
Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Location: Bucheon
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| Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 5:37 am Post subject: |
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| Be careful buying anything Mac in Korea. My friend bought an iBook at the Mac Experience store in Coex. Apparently there was some problem with the iBooks. Discoloration in the keyboard plastic. A simple problem, if you ordered from Mac online or bought it from an authorized Mac retail outlet, just take it in, and they'll pop a new cover on it. Simple! Turns out, the Mac Experience store was NOT an authorized retail center. It was simply an EXPERIENCE center, nothing to do with sales. And there don't seem to be any Authorized retailers around. She can't get it fixed here, she's been trying to find a place, and the online Center won't do it, because she didn't buy it at an approved place! |
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JongnoGuru
Joined: 25 May 2004
Location: peeing on your doorstep
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| Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 5:53 am Post subject: |
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| KumaraKitty wrote: |
| Be careful buying anything Mac in Korea. My friend bought an iBook at the Mac Experience store in Coex. Apparently there was some problem with the iBooks. Discoloration in the keyboard plastic. A simple problem, if you ordered from Mac online or bought it from an authorized Mac retail outlet, just take it in, and they'll pop a new cover on it. Simple! Turns out, the Mac Experience store was NOT an authorized retail center. It was simply an EXPERIENCE center, nothing to do with sales. And there don't seem to be any Authorized retailers around. She can't get it fixed here, she's been trying to find a place, and the online Center won't do it, because she didn't buy it at an approved place! |
VERY good point, Kumara. I was trying to get some Apple stuff, called a number on their official website for Korea. Turns out it's these young Korean guys who live/work in Australia, and who answer the phone "yoboseyo"... so for awhile you're thinking they're right here in Seoul, and you're asking them all this detailed info and specific locations & addresses of places here the city. ("which floor of which building at Yongsan did you say?") And they're in a completely different friggin' hemisphere from you.
So I'm telling them (the official Apple Korea operators located sensibly in Australia) about difficulties finding this, that, this, that in Korea -- and they're telling me they can get stuff to me if I wait a bit. Nah, no thanks, I want to look at the products, talk with the staff in person, etc., and I will probably wait till the COEX Apple place gets it in stock.
I say this and they're begging me NOT to make that MISTAKE. Avoid the COEX place! They're telling me the whole lowdown, the unauthorised status, the problems with exchanges, the problems getting things, the problems, the problems, the problems.... They did everything but speculate on the parentage of the COEX "Experience" employees.
This is so often, too often the case in Korea. You have two more different sources who SHOULD be on the same team, working together to expand the brand, and what do you get? "Oh, he bad guy, you no trust him! You trust me!"  |
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zappadelta
Joined: 31 Aug 2004
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| Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 1:59 pm Post subject: |
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| endo wrote: |
Where exactly is the one in Myongdong?
I've been there twoce this month and couldn't find it. |
Directions are a little hard since it's not on the main strip. Go out Exit #6, and start heading down the main drag towards Pascucci Coffee. You know how there are many side alleys on the right and left? Go down either the 1st or 2nd side alley on the right, can't remember. Walk straight for a few minutes, and it's on the right side. That's the best I can do. |
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