By August this year foreign shoppers had spent a trillion won in its stores, a third of everything sold at the tills. We went to the Myeongdong flagship to see why, and to learn how the tax refund at the counter works before you get there.
Written by the Kverything editors. Photograph by Xuedi Liu on Unsplash. Last checked November 3, 2026.
Olive Young is CJ’s health-and-beauty chain: a green sign, a store on most busy streets, shelves of the Korean brands you have seen on TikTok, and testers you are allowed to use. For Koreans it is where you buy sunscreen on the way home. For visitors it has become the first stop after the hotel.
Three things made it the pilgrimage. The mix: one shop carries the brands that used to need three. The price: own-label and mid-range lines, and the twice-yearly sale Koreans plan around. And the till: the tax refund is handled on the spot, so the receipt you walk out with is already the discounted one.
The Myeongdong flagship added English, Japanese and Chinese signage and staff, and the queue outside it is now part of the street.
Inside the largest Olive Young in Korea Jason & Zash Vlogs. Plays on YouTube.Bring the passport, not a photo of it. The refund at the till needs the physical passport and a receipt of 15,000 won or more; limits per purchase and per stay are on the customs page in the sources.
Read four words on the label: 수분 hydration, 진정 calming, 미백 brightening, 저자극 low-irritation.
Use the testers and skip the basket. Staff will decant a sample if you ask. Foreign cards work at every till.
The flagship is Olive Young Myeongdong Town, a short walk from Myeongdong station on line 4. Any store with the green sign does the refund; the flagship has the most staff who speak your language.
Instant tax refund, please. Here is my passport.