Olive Young for Tourists: Which Store, Tax Refund and Sale Dates

Which Olive Young should you go to in Seoul?

Our pick is Olive Young Myeongdong Town, if you visit one. It is the chain's global-focused store, built around foreign shoppers, with English, Japanese and Chinese spoken and a tax refund desk upstairs. It sits at 53 Myeongdong-gil, by Exit 8 of Myeongdong Station on Line 4 and Exit 5 of Euljiro 1-ga Station on Line 2.

The store splits its range over two floors. Skincare, sun care, sheet masks and spot patches are on the first floor. Makeup, nails, hair care, men's care, fragrance, body care, health supplements and food are on the second, along with a lounge with free Wi-Fi. There is no restroom in the store.

Olive Young N Seongsu is the one to go out of your way for. The Korea Herald reported that it opened in November 2024 across five floors and about 4,628 square metres, the chain's largest store, with English product labels, multilingual staff and makeup and skincare studios. It is at 13 Yeonmujang 7-gil in Seongdong-gu, and the Korea Tourism Organization lists it as open daily from 10am to 10pm with instant tax refund.

You do not need a flagship for the basics. The Korea Times reported in August 2026 that Olive Young has designated 151 stores as key locations for foreign tourists, more than a tenth of its Korean stores, so a branch near your hotel may already be set up for visitors.

Related guideHongdae vs Myeongdong: Which to Book for a First Trip to SeoulMyeongdong is the better base for a first trip to Seoul, two stops from Seoul Station and close to the palaces. Hongdae wins if your evenings are the point.

How does the tax refund work at Olive Young?

Show your passport at the till and the tax comes off the price. Olive Young Myeongdong Town gives the instant refund on purchases of 15,000 won or more, and puts the amount at 5 to 8% of what you spend.

The store asks for a physical passport, and signs over its checkout counters repeat the request in English and Chinese. Keep the passport on you rather than in the hotel safe on shopping days.

The national rules set the limits. According to the Korea Tourism Organization, the instant refund covers foreign visitors staying in Korea for up to 6 months, on purchases of at least 15,000 won and under 1,000,000 won each, up to 5,000,000 won in total. The goods must leave Korea within 3 months, unopened.

A few things never qualify. Myeongdong Town lists sanitary goods, shopping bags and dried fruit products as excluded. For purchases you did not get refunded at the till, the store's second-floor refund desk handles post-purchase refunds with your passport and receipt, and the rest are claimed at the airport.

Does the Olive Young Global app work in stores?

No. Olive Young Global's membership page states that the programme does not work outside Olive Young Global, including at Olive Young stores in Korea. Its points, tier coupons and birthday gifts apply only to orders on the global site and app, which ship abroad.

That makes the Global app useful after the trip, for reordering a product you found in Seoul. In the store, the savings that count for a visitor are the tax refund, the sale weeks and the stickers on the shelf.

How can you pay?

By card, or by the payment apps visitors already use. Myeongdong Town lists WeChat Pay and Alipay among its accepted mobile payments, and the Korea Tourism Organization lists cards as accepted at N Seongsu. Gift wrapping at Myeongdong Town costs 1,000 to 2,500 won, depending on size.

Payment brands also fund short discounts. Korea Biomedical Review reported that in early 2026 Olive Young ran limited-time offers with UnionPay, Alipay, WeChat Pay, WOWPASS and Trip.com, each with its own minimum spend and end date, so check the shelf signs and the till rather than relying on a past offer.

If you carry WOWPASS for transit, its prepaid shopping balance is covered in the transit card comparison, and the wider question of cards, cash and pay apps is in the payment guide.

Related guideHow to Pay in Korea: Cards, Cash and TransitForeign cards work in most Korean shops. They fail at market stalls, on Korean websites and at the subway gate, and each of those gaps has its own workaround.

A prepaid Olive Young gift certificate is another option if you want to fix a beauty budget before you land. Creatrip sells a mobile certificate valid in Olive Young stores across Korea and on the official app, and it cannot be cancelled or changed once paid.

Ticket · Creatrip

Olive Young mobile gift certificate

Digital Olive Young voucher, valid in stores across Korea and on the Olive Young app. No cancellation or change after payment.

Check availability on Creatrip

What do tourists buy at Olive Young?

Skincare, first of all. The Korea Times reported that from January to August 2026, Olive Young's sales of dermocosmetic skincare to foreign customers rose about 78% and inner beauty products, the supplements aimed at skin, about 64%.

The scale explains the queues. Foreign customers spent more than 1 trillion won at Olive Young's Korean stores in those eight months, over 11 million transactions, and made up 33% of its offline sales. The largest groups came from the United States, Singapore, Japan, China and Thailand.

Buy for your own use. Myeongdong Town does not take bulk orders, and refunded goods have to leave Korea unopened.

When is the Olive Young Sale?

In March, June, September and December, for about a week each time. Cosmorning describes the Olive Young Sale as a regular event held in those four months, in stores and online, and the March 2026 edition ran from 1 to 7 March across about 30,000 beauty and wellness products.

The September 2026 sale ran from 30 August to 5 September, with about 34,000 products. As of 17 September 2026, Olive Young had not announced the December dates, so check before you build a trip around them.

Outside those weeks, prices on popular lines still move with in-store offers. A visit in the middle of a quarter is not a wasted trip, only a less discounted one.

For beauty bookings beyond shopping, see head spas in Seoul and personal color analysis in Seoul. More of the city is in the Seoul travel guide.