Nobody likes furniture shopping, especially not when you are an ex-pat in a new foreign country. Unless you have a lot of money and boatloads of spare time. After this blog post blows up the internet, maybe I’ll have some of that. When I first came to Seoul, I had no idea how to buy furniture for our tiny apartment. Now that I’ve been here for two years, I know a thing or two about the best places to shop for furniture here in Korea both online and offline.
Last year, I briefly worked in a Korean company as an interior designer. We are all still scratching our heads and trying to figure out how that happened. I learned a thing or two about how not to buy furniture. I was a terrible interior designer. But here’s some advice that doesn’t suck.
Where to buy cheap-ish furniture in-store in South Korea
Full disclosure, I am a huge fan of furniture and homewares. If you are just after basics to get by with, check out Facebook groups and also Craigslist Seoul. But, if you are buying new bits, these are some of the places I have purchased cheap items from or dreamed of buying from (in no particular order).
You can buy cheap furniture in Korea at Lotte Mart, H&M Home (I like the one in Yongsan), IKEA, Emart Grocery Stores and Zara Home (My favourite location is at IFC Mall in Yeoido)
Special mention for homewares goes to…
Jaju is one of my FAVOURITE homewares stores in Korea. ‘Jaju’ in Korean means ‘often’, so they sell all of those items in your home that you use often. It is very much like a Korean version of Muji but with more colour and more of a Scandinavian feeling. If you are looking for storage solutions, textiles, cookware, kitchen utensils, rubbish bins and other small storage furniture, definitely check out Jaju. Most Emart supermarkets have a Jaju located in their stores. Jaju is owned by Shinsegae who also own Emart supermarkets.
So, if you are sick of buying cheap, low-quality items from Daiso, hit up Jaju! They also have cute pyjamas and clothing items which I am currently eyeing up!
Where to buy furniture in South Korea online
There are so many great sites in Korea for buying furniture online. If Korean is not your strong suit, I recommend viewing these sites in your browser. If you look at them in your browser, you can easily translate the pages into English to help you navigate to the products you need.
These are just some of my favourite places to buy furniture online in Korea. I have used most of these sites so I can definitely recommend them. You may need someone’s help ordering things online if you are new to Korea!
Where to buy mid-range furniture in Korea (in-store and online)
Muji – Great products but they are quite pricey and there are very limited styles
Hanssem – One of the top furniture brands in Korea and is kind of similar to IKEA. Hanssem has showrooms all around Korea with a range of low-price to mid-range furniture. Hanssem has amazing customer service in-store, I can highly recommend them if you are buying new pieces for your home.
iloom – I have never shopped with iloom but they are another top brand in Korea. I personally really love some of their designs but I have no experience with their website or customer service.
Casamia – I have never shopped here but I often go into their stores to gawk at their huge sofas and beautiful styling. Keep an eye out for their sales!
Upmarket furniture in Korea
West Elm
Department Stores like Shinsegae or Lotte department store
Yongsan Living Park has a great range of furniture that is on the pricier side and is located right above the train station. There is also a Hanssem store there!
Bonus Round: Where to buy a bed in Korea?
We bought our bedhead and mattress from Brandless last year and we absolutely love it. They are really affordable and have a lot of showrooms around Korea for you to go and test out their beds. Definitely my favourite bed store in Korea!
IKEA
Casamia
Muji
Want to see my house?
Last year, I made a video touring my house here in South Korea! A lot has changed since we filmed it so I’m thinking I might need to make another one.
More home content:
Any suggestions?
If you have some more tips and tricks about furniture shopping in Korea, help a girl out below.
Korean Picnic 
HI! I love your blog and I love your new apartment. I really wish my family can also get a new one next year. I love your home your video!
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Hello! Thank you so much for reading. Good luck with getting a new apartment. All the best ✨✨
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