One-stop centre for your duty-free shopping.

Dongwha Duty-free Shopping Mall (동화면세점) might just be the dream shopping centre everyone has been waiting for. From cosmetics to electronics, food and branded items, Dongwha Duty-Free Shopping Mall has everything that a tourist needs in South Korea. The shopping area comprises of 5 stories of shops and rest area for the tired shoppers. Staff here are fluent in foreign languages such as English, Chinese and Japanese to aid the patrons. All you have to do is show your passport when making the purchase and you will qualify for the tax-free prices straight away! No further procedures required!

Dongwha Duty Free is also the oldest duty free mall in Seoul, having opened in 1973. It is also conveniently located in Gwanghwamun, a central tourist attraction district, with the national palace Gyeongbokgung, popular attractions such as Samcheongdong, Insadong and the Cheonggyecheon Stream(a stream running through the heart of Seoul) located here in this district. As such, it makes for an ideal all-in-one shopping experience for both shopping and sightseeing at the same time!

How to get there:

Take the subway to Line 5 Gwanghwamun Station and look for Exit 6. Walk up the staircase at exit 6 and you should see a big complex on your right. Enter through the front door and go straight towards the building centre and you see the friend staff at Dongwha Duty-free welcoming visitors.

There are a total of 5 levels of shopping. Most tourists start from the top-most level and slowly make their way down. Many of the shops are carrying discounts and special offers only for tourists, on top of the tax free shopping. The top most level consists of Korean cosmetic brands such as Banila Co, Etude House, Innisfree, Leaders and many more! Besides Korean cosmetic brands, you can also find perfumes and electronics, both Korean and major international brands here. Certain electronics such as rice cooker and Korean brand products such as Samsung and LG are popular with tourists, as there is usually a wider range of product variety here compared to the overseas market.

Want to experience how it is like when Korean celebrities get their make up done? Head down to the make-up experience booth for a free make up experience as well as tutorial on how to achieve that desired Korean make up look, conducted by professional make up artists!

The fourth level consists of fashion brands such as Bean Pole, Furla, Kipling and Swarovski, among many others. You can also find sunglasses and liquor here at this level.

On the third level, you can expect to find famous cosmetic brands such as Sulwhasoo, Shu Uemura, YSL, Dior, Chanel, Biothem, Anna Sui, Lancome, Laneige, Clinique, Clarins, Hera, Kiehls, Bobbi Brown, Givenchy, Estee Lauder, MAC and many more! This entire floor is dedicated to cosmetic brands from all over the world, selected carefully by the team at Dongwha Duty Free.

Amore Pacific, the parent company of many brands such as HERA, Etude House, Innisfree, Primera and Laneige is one of the leading cosmetic companies in Korea and has a heavy presence here.

There probably wouldn’t be a brand that is available in Korea but not here at Dongwha Duty Free. To further entice customers, promotions such as ‘buy 2 get 1 free’ etc can be frequently seen throughout the mall. If you are buying in groups or planning to buy for your friends back home, it can come down to a really good deal. Not all promotions are made the same, but after browsing through the entire floor we realized there are some offers that are pretty worth it.

Want to experience how it is like when Korean celebrities get their make up done? Head down to the make-up experience booth on the third level for a free make up experience as well as tutorial on how to achieve that desired Korean make up look, conducted by professional make up artists! The friendly staff is ever present to help you with your queries regarding cosmetic products as well as advise you on the ways to get the most out of your purchases.

The second level is currently under upgrading so is not accessible to the public. The first level should appeal more to men. This level features luxury watch brands such as Rolex, Piaget, Tissot, Breitling, Ferrari, Hublot, Longines and many more. For the ladies, this very same floor also features the luxury brands such as Burberry, Gucci, Longchamp, Ferragamo, Hermes, Fendi, Emporio Armani, Marc by Marc Jacobs and more! It is no wonder this level is usually packed with tourists indulging in duty free shopping.

If you get hungry in the midst of your shopping, simply head to the back exit of the building, cross the street and you have a wide range of restaurants and cafes where you can grab something to eat. We popped by a restaurant offering a bulgogi and bibimbap set for only 10,000KRW per person! It was really tasty and filling!

For those who wish to travel to more places after shopping, a Seoul City Tour Bus (www.seoulcitybus.com) will depart from the front of Dongwha Duty Free at regular intervals. The bus service offers three different sightseeing tours, mainly a downtown route, an ancient palace tour and a nightscape tour. These bus services are offered specially to tourists to bring you on a sightseeing tour around the various points of interests while cutting down transit time. For more information do check out the website above!

There are plenty of things to do here in Gwanghwamun. For those who wish to do their duty free shopping but yet cut down the hassle of having to go through the tax claiming procedures at the airport or at Myeongdong, Dongwha Duty Free is the answer for you!

• Address: Gwanghwamun BD, 211 Sejong-ro, jongno-gu, Seou
• Subway: Line 5, Gwanghwamun Station, Exit 6
• Opening Hours: 0930 ~ 2030
• Website: http://dfsdongwha.com/en
• Contact Number: +82 02-399-3000
• Email: dongwhadfs@ondutyfree.com