Last updated 2024.03.22
Finding Furnishings
When considering furnishing your apartment, here are some tips on places to look:
1) Daiso: Daiso is a chain of stores that offers a plethora of inexpensive household items. It also has an online store called Daiso Mall (다이소몰).
2) Facebook: South Korea has a fairly large expat population moving in and out, which leads to a fairly robust secondhand market. You can find this secondhand market on Facebook in groups such as:
3) Karrot: Karrot is a community-based buy and sell app used mostly by Koreans. As such, although it offers an English interface, many of the postings on Karrot are in Korean. Using Karrot, you can search for items you want to buy by neighborhood. You can download the Karrot App to your phone from the Google Play Store or the Apple Store.
4) Online Markets: Coupang, GMarket, and 11 Street are the three biggest online markets in Korea (in the style of Amazon). Online stores often offer fast shipping of inexpensive furnishings.
5) Chain Stores: Emart and HomePlus are the two biggest chain stores in Korea. Pricewise, they are not likely to be quite as inexpensive as Daiso, for example, but they will likely have a broader array of certain household items.
6) Ikea and Costco: Korea has a few Ikea stores as well as a handful of Costco stores located in various parts of the country. If you have a Costco membership in the U.S., be sure to bring your Costco card with you as you can typically use it in Korean stores as well.
1) Daiso: Daiso is a chain of stores that offers a plethora of inexpensive household items. It also has an online store called Daiso Mall (다이소몰).
2) Facebook: South Korea has a fairly large expat population moving in and out, which leads to a fairly robust secondhand market. You can find this secondhand market on Facebook in groups such as:
- Buy and Sell in Seoul
- Expat Women in Korea Buy and Sell
- Seoul Buy & Sell
- MONA - Less Waste, More Impact
3) Karrot: Karrot is a community-based buy and sell app used mostly by Koreans. As such, although it offers an English interface, many of the postings on Karrot are in Korean. Using Karrot, you can search for items you want to buy by neighborhood. You can download the Karrot App to your phone from the Google Play Store or the Apple Store.
4) Online Markets: Coupang, GMarket, and 11 Street are the three biggest online markets in Korea (in the style of Amazon). Online stores often offer fast shipping of inexpensive furnishings.
5) Chain Stores: Emart and HomePlus are the two biggest chain stores in Korea. Pricewise, they are not likely to be quite as inexpensive as Daiso, for example, but they will likely have a broader array of certain household items.
6) Ikea and Costco: Korea has a few Ikea stores as well as a handful of Costco stores located in various parts of the country. If you have a Costco membership in the U.S., be sure to bring your Costco card with you as you can typically use it in Korean stores as well.