Daiso Korea for Skincare and Makeup: Prices, Stores and Tax Refunds

Everything at Daiso Korea costs one of six prices, from ₩500 to ₩5,000, and its beauty shelves include Daiso-only lines from Korean brands such as VT and Zoom by Jung Saem Mool. In central Seoul, go to the Myeongdong Station store at 134-1 Toegye-ro, open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. For a tax refund, put ₩15,000 or more on one receipt (at least three items at Daiso’s prices) and show your passport at the till. VisitKorea lists this store as a claim-later shop: you pay full price, then claim the tax at the Global Tax Free kiosk on its first floor or at the airport.

How much does Daiso cost in Korea?

Every product costs one of six fixed prices: ₩500, ₩1,000, ₩1,500, ₩2,000, ₩3,000 or ₩5,000. Asung Daiso, the company that runs the chain, says ₩1,000 items make up the largest share of its range.

What beauty products does Daiso sell?

Daiso sells skincare, base and colour makeup, lip products, sun care, hair care, body care and beauty tools. The lines below featured in its 2026 beauty events on Daiso Mall, its online shop. Stock differs from store to store, so not every store carries every line.

• Base makeup: Zoom by Jung Saem Mool (줌 바이 정샘물), the second brand of makeup artist Jung Saem Mool, and BONCEPT (본셉), a Tonymoly line sold at Daiso that also makes lip products.
• Skincare and lip: VT’s Reedle Shot line, including a lip plumper.
• More makeup and skincare brands: Prelude Dinto (프릴루드 딘토), KLAVUU (클라뷰), twoedit (투에딧) and MILKTOUCH (밀크터치).
• Sun care: tone-up sun cushions, BB sun cream, mineral sunscreen, sticks and sprays.
• Hair care: JSOOP (제이숲), RG3 and other Korean brands.

Packaging is in Korean, so the Hangul names above help you match a brand on the shelf. Our guide to Korean cosmetics labels shows where the use-by date and ingredient list sit.

Daiso carried about 2,200 beauty products from about 150 beauty brands in August 2026, up from about 1,420 products at the end of 2025, Joseilbo reported. It added that the cosmetics groups Amorepacific and LG H&H also make Daiso-only products.

Sheet masks top foreign shoppers’ beauty purchases at Daiso: a VT sheet mask first, then two Vaseline sheet masks, according to Daiso figures reported by Hankyung in April 2026.

Is Daiso skincare the same as the regular version?

Often not. Hankyung reported in August 2026 that Daiso first fixes the price and then has the product designed to fit it: smaller volumes and simpler containers rather than the regular product sold cheaply. Its examples were Zoom by Jung Saem Mool’s tube and zip-bag packaging and VT’s Reedle Shot in a smaller size than the regular product.

If you already use a product, compare its millilitres with the regular size at Olive Young before you buy.

Which Daiso should I go to in Seoul?

The Myeongdong Station store, unless you’re based somewhere else. All the stores below open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., according to Daiso’s store finder, and most of them closed on Chuseok day in 2026 (see the holiday section below). The finder marks every one except Konkuk as offering tax refunds.

Daiso has two stores at the Express Bus Terminal. The one in the table, with the refund kiosk, is 강남고속버스터미널점 on B1; the finder lists the second, 강남고속버스터미널2호점, on 1F at the same address.

Sources: Daiso store finder pages for Myeongdong main, Hongdae No. 2, Gangnam Station, Express Bus Terminal, Seoul Station and Konkuk, checked October 16, 2026. Search the Korean store name in Naver Map for walking directions from the nearest subway exit (how).

How to choose:

• Staying in Myeongdong or Jung-gu: the Myeongdong Station store, for the most floors and the refund kiosk. The Myeongdong main store on Myeongdong-gil is a smaller store on two levels.
• Staying in Hongdae: Hongdae No. 2, seven floors on Yanghwa-ro. VisitKorea lists it as a tax refund shop.
• Staying in Gangnam: the Gangnam Station store, three basement floors; Daiso’s opening video points shoppers to Gangnam Station exit 11.
• On your way to the airport or a bus: the Seoul Station store, where the airport train leaves (Incheon Airport to Seoul), or the Express Bus Terminal store on B1, under the same terminal as Goto Mall (Seoul’s underground malls).

What’s inside the 12-storey Myeongdong Daiso?

The store fills a building beside Myeongdong Station from B1 to 12F, with an elevator and an entrance ramp. When it reopened in March 2023, Daiso put beauty on 2F, the tills and seasonal goods on 1F, and stationery, food, kitchen, bathroom, home decor, gardening and hobby goods above, across about 1,650 square metres.

Is there a beauty-focused Daiso in Seoul?

Yes, one, but it is small: the Konkuk store at 117 Neungdong-ro, near Konkuk University Station, opened at the end of August 2026 on about 66 square metres (20 pyeong), roughly 80 percent of it beauty, Joseilbo reported. It covers skincare, makeup, hair and body care. It’s worth a stop if you’re already in Konkuk, not a trip on its own. Sisa Journal-e reported Chinese and Japanese signs on the shelves and a separate men’s grooming shelf.

The Konkuk store is not marked for tax refunds in Daiso’s store finder. The Star City Konkuk store (스타시티건대점), nearby at 92 Neungdong-ro on B2, is marked for them and opens 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., according to the same finder search. Go to Konkuk for the focused selection, and do any refundable shop at Star City.

Can I get a tax refund at Daiso?

Yes, at the Myeongdong Station and Hongdae No. 2 stores, on ₩15,000 or more on one receipt, but the tax is not taken off the price at the till. VisitKorea lists both as “claim for refund” shops, not immediate-refund ones, so you claim the tax back afterwards. Daiso’s store finder also marks the other stores in the table above, except Konkuk, for tax refunds.

1. Put at least ₩15,000 on one receipt, and put anything you’ll open in Korea on a separate one.
2. Show your passport at the till before you pay, pay the full price and take the tax refund receipt.
3. Claim the tax at a Global Tax Free kiosk in the store, at Myeongdong Station (1F), the Express Bus Terminal (B1F) or Gangnam Station; at another Global Tax Free downtown counter or kiosk; or at the airport. The kiosk holds a deposit on your credit card until customs confirms you left Korea with the goods, Global Tax Free says.
4. Leave Korea with the goods unopened.

Global Tax Free’s downtown list also includes kiosks at Daiso Sinsa, Daiso Apgujeong, Daiso East Pole and Daiso DUNDUN (3F, 264 Eulji-ro), the Dundun building in our Dongdaemun night shopping guide, and refund points at Lotte Department Store’s main branch and Shinsegae’s main store. Fees and the airport steps are in our cosmetics tax refund guide.

How do I pay at Daiso?

Cards, at the two stores VisitKorea lists (Myeongdong Station and Hongdae No. 2). News1 reported Alipay, WeChat Pay and UnionPay spending at the Myeongdong Station store in October 2025.

Is Daiso open on Korean holidays?

Yes, except on the day of Seollal and Chuseok, when most stores close. VisitKorea lists the Seollal and Chuseok holidays as closures for the Myeongdong Station and Hongdae No. 2 stores, and Daiso posts a notice before each holiday listing the stores that open. For Chuseok 2026, its notice kept all stores open on September 24 and 26, and on Chuseok day itself, September 25, only some directly run stores opened. In Seoul those were both Express Bus Terminal stores (강남고속버스터미널점 and 강남고속버스터미널2호점), Seoul Station, COEX Mall, East Pole Guui, Mario Outlet, Bitplex Wangsimni Station and Enter6 Gangbyeon. Expect a similar list before Seollal; the notice says schedules can change and asks shoppers to call the customer centre on 1522-4400 before going (weekdays 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Daiso’s FAQ says).

Can I exchange or return something at Daiso?

Yes, within two weeks with the receipt. Daiso’s FAQ says exchanges are done at the store you bought from or a nearby company-run store, and refunds only at the store you bought from. If you paid by card, bring that card too. Items or packaging damaged through the customer’s own carelessness can’t be exchanged or refunded.

If a store has sold out, use the per-store stock lookup on Daiso Mall, linked from Daiso’s FAQ (Korean-language, available 24 hours), to find another store that has the item.

Daiso or Olive Young?

Both, for different jobs. Daiso caps every item at ₩5,000 and sells many Daiso-only sizes, so go there for sheet masks, minis, travel-size sun care, makeup you want to try, and tools. Go to Olive Young for the regular size of a product you already use. Its large stores take the tax off at the till, while the Daiso stores VisitKorea lists make you claim it afterwards. Each shop’s receipt has to reach ₩15,000 on its own.

Steve OH edits Seoulpin. Steve runs Standardpin, a Seoul-based web studio that also builds websites for clinics; that work has no effect on whether or how any clinic appears here. Articles are drafted with AI assistance from the sources listed and reviewed by Steve before publishing. How we work