Duty-Free vs Olive Young (2026): Where to Buy K-Beauty in Korea

An escalator inside a bright, modern airport terminal building

Written by YUNA, the pen name behind Hello Korea Tips. Every guide is checked against official sources before it goes up.

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Last checked: November 1, 2026

For most K-beauty, I’d buy at Olive Young, ideally during one of its sale weeks. You walk out with the products, and stores like its Myeongdong Global branch can take the tax off at the till. I’d order duty-free when the same product, in the same size, costs less there after the membership discount.

I looked for a product of the same size listed on both an official duty-free site and Olive Young, and couldn’t find a clean pair to compare. So I’ve compared how each one takes the tax off instead.

Quick answer

  • 🛍️ Drugstore brands: Olive Young, ideally in a sale week
  • 💳 Duty-free: when its price after the discount is lower
  • 🧳 Duty-free pickup: at the airport on your departure day

How each one takes the tax off

Travelers with luggage carts walking past shops in the departure lobby at Incheon Airport
Shops lining the departures area at Incheon Airport. Photo: Kanchi1979, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

A duty-free shop sells goods without customs duty and consumption tax already built in. A tax-refund shop like Olive Young charges the normal price, then gives back the value-added tax (and, on some goods, the individual consumption tax). Goods bought duty-free can’t get a tax refund on top.

At Olive Young’s Myeongdong Global store, the refund comes off at the till on each purchase of 15,000 won or more but under 1 million won. Bring your physical passport. Customs caps these purchases at 5 million won per trip, and visitors who have stayed more than six months get the refund at the airport instead.

The store’s page says the refund works out to about 5 to 8% of the price. On a 100,000-won basket, that is 5,000 to 8,000 won back.

Duty-free shops add membership discounts on top of their prices. The Shilla Duty Free lists discounts of up to 10% for its Silver tier and up to 20% for its top tiers, with different rates in stores and online.

A 100,000-won Olive Young basket with 5 to 8% back at the till costs 92,000 to 95,000 won. On the duty-free site, I’d look up the same product in the same size and note the price after the membership discount.

If duty-free comes out lower, it is worth the pickup. If the two are close, I’d take the Olive Young one, since you leave with it.

Olive Young’s sale weeks

Olive Young holds its big sale four times a year, at the start of each season. The spring 2026 one ran from March 1 to 7 with about 30,000 products, and the one from August 29 to September 4, 2025 had more than 20,000.

If your trip falls in March, June, September, or December, I’d check the Olive Young app for that season’s dates and do the drugstore shopping that week. I didn’t find a page on whether sale prices and the refund at the till combine, so I’d ask at the counter.

Buying duty-free as a tourist: the rules

The front of a Lotte Duty Free shop in the departures area of Incheon Airport
The Lotte Duty Free shop in the departures area at Incheon Airport. Photo: Vuong Tri Binh, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Duty-free shopping in Korea is for people leaving the country, so it needs a passport and flight details. Hyundai Duty Free says a copy or photo of the passport isn’t accepted. Online orders and downtown purchases are collected at the airport pickup counter on your departure day. One exception: Hyundai lets foreign shoppers take Korean-made products from the store on the spot, within 60 days of departure.

There’s no limit on how much a foreigner leaving Korea can buy, according to both the Shilla and Hyundai duty-free pages. Ordering has a deadline, though, and it depends on your flight. At Hyundai’s Trade Center store, for an Incheon flight between 3 a.m. and 4:59 p.m., the last order time is 7:30 p.m. the day before.

At Incheon, each duty-free company has its own pickup counters near certain gates, and the Shilla guide asks you to collect your items 1 to 2 hours before departure. Only the person who bought the goods can collect them, and Lotte Duty Free says it doesn’t deliver to an address.

⚠️ Heads-up

If you don’t collect your order before you fly, you can’t pick it up when you come back. Hyundai cancels uncollected orders one month after the departure date. Shilla says uncollected goods go back to the store and are kept for 10 days before the sale is cancelled under customs rules.

Where are the duty-free shops downtown?

The Lotte Department Store main branch building in central Seoul
The Lotte Department Store main branch in central Seoul. Photo: Abasaa, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

In Myeongdong, Lotte Duty Free’s main store is on the 9th to 12th floors of the Lotte Department Store main branch. I couldn’t confirm its opening hours from Lotte’s own site, so I’d check the Lotte Duty Free app before you go.

Hyundai Duty Free’s Trade Center store lists 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. from Monday to Thursday and until 8:30 p.m. from Friday to Sunday. Its stores at Incheon’s two terminals list 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. daily, and some sunglasses and fashion stores in Terminal 1 are open 24 hours. Neither page lists pickup-counter hours, so check your order’s pickup details.

Flying home with a connection

If you buy creams or toners at a duty-free shop at Incheon, they go into a special sealed duty-free bag. Incheon says that bag has to stay sealed until you board your final flight.

If you bought at Olive Young instead, the normal carry-on rule applies: 100 ml or less per container, all in one clear 1-litre bag. Anything bigger goes in your checked suitcase, so I’d pack the Olive Young haul before you get to the airport.

Yuna’s pick

Toners, serums, sunscreen, masks: Olive Young, in a sale week if you can.

A luxury Korean cream or a perfume you already know: compare the duty-free price with your membership discount.

Short on time on departure day: skip duty-free orders and pack everything in your checked bag.

I’d keep duty-free orders to a few items you’ve already chosen. Place them at least a day ahead, since Hyundai’s Trade Center store closes orders at 7:30 p.m. the day before for an Incheon flight leaving between 3 a.m. and 4:59 p.m.

Honest take

I’d order duty-free when its price after the discount is lower for the same product and there is time at the airport to collect it. On a busy departure day, I would finish the shopping downtown at Olive Young and skip the pickup.

FAQ

Are duty-free prices in US dollars?

Not necessarily. The Shilla Duty Free says you pay the amount in won calculated at that day’s exchange rate, and Hyundai’s English site shows won. I’d compare prices in won so you’re looking at the same currency at both shops.

Is there a limit on how much I can buy?

Not when you leave Korea, according to the Shilla and Hyundai pages. Your own country’s customs allowance still applies when you land at home, so I’d check that before a big haul.

Can I use the Olive Young tax refund at the airport?

Yes, if the store gave you a tax refund receipt instead of the refund at the till. Each receipt needs to be 15,000 won or more, and the goods have to leave Korea within 3 months of purchase.

At the airport, customs checks the goods, the receipt, and your passport first, and then the money comes from a refund counter or kiosk. My tax refund guide has the counter locations.

Price the few duty-free candidates before your last day, and buy the rest at Olive Young along the way. If you find a newer deadline or discount than the ones here, send it through the Contact page and I’ll update this guide.

Hwaiting!

Yuna

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Sources and last check

How I put this guide together: from the Shilla, Hyundai, and Lotte duty-free sites, Korea Customs Service, VISITKOREA, Incheon Airport, Olive Young’s store page, and Korean news on the Olive Young Sale. I checked all of them on November 1, 2026. Lotte’s guide pages didn’t load for me. Its no-delivery rule comes from one of its product pages, and the floors of its main store come from a search preview of Cartier’s store listing in the same building. The airport’s carry-on page was also read as a search preview. The recommendations are my own. No store paid to be included, and none reviewed this guide. More on how I research every guide is on the About page.

Last checked: November 1, 2026. Prices, discounts, and order deadlines change, so please confirm before you buy. This is an independent guide, not affiliated with any duty-free shop or Olive Young.

Sources:

Cover image: An airport terminal escalator.

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