Holy *hit. Went to a Korean Dept. Store w/gf

There are affordable, Korean made clothes in large sizes.

Yesterday my wife came back with a new winter coat, 5 pairs of slacks, 8 tops, and a shorts set for about 600k₩.

These places are off the beaten path, but they are there. Most Koreans don’t buy all their clothes at The Hyundai.

This man married well.

The worst is furniture. The prices are outrageous. And the quality is absolute shite. Cheap particle board inside with weird, plasticky, faux wood on the outside. Or that brown leather sofa that 97% of the households in the country own.

My mother in law bought us a bed when we got married, which is nice. My wife told me the price and it was millions and millions of won. I couldn't believe it.
Then about two years ago I was moving it and a chunk of the headboard broke if in my hand. That same particle board stuff that you find in the most budget of furniture stores elsewhere and should be a few hundred dollars tops. EVERYTHING is made out of it. It's like solid wood doesn't exist.

And I should add, last year there was a video released of a hidden camera expose of some Chaebol family woman screaming at an underling in her ultra luxury apartment. What I noticed was the furniture in the background was the same gaudy, tacky, particle board shit every one else has.

A lot of those furniture stores protested against Ikea because it would take away a lot of their trade. Who would want to spend 2 million on a table or sofa when I can get the same quality from Ikea for half the price. We got a great table from Ikea for around 250,000 total (frame + top) and I see the same table in a lot of Koreans' re-modelling apartment photos.

There are affordable, Korean made clothes in large sizes.

Yesterday my wife came back with a new winter coat, 5 pairs of slacks, 8 tops, and a shorts set for about 600k₩.

These places are off the beaten path, but they are there. Most Koreans don’t buy all their clothes at The Hyundai.

This man married well.

Or his wife only told him it cost a mere 600k won. Credit card bill might say different.

There are affordable, Korean made clothes in large sizes.

Yesterday my wife came back with a new winter coat, 5 pairs of slacks, 8 tops, and a shorts set for about 600k₩.

These places are off the beaten path, but they are there. Most Koreans don’t buy all their clothes at The Hyundai.

This man married well.

Or his wife only told him it cost a mere 600k won. Credit card bill might say different.

She is wonderful.

Exhibit A attached...

I'd say your credibility here took a hit, but that was torpedoed a long time ago.  Koreans absolutely will happily pay a premium mark up on products believing it relates to the quality and prestige of the item.  You cannot have lived here any length of time and not noticed it across the spectrum of consumer products and services.  You know it's true. 

Yes they will. And many of them also will not and go to Outlet stores and order from overseas online or go to some bargain market in some alley. Not every Korean is buying $1200 coats at Lotte Dept. Store.

And as to your point that it happens back in the west, sure, it happens with a demographic known as the nouveau riche, or trailer trash that won the lottery.  But how does the same mindset existing in a segment of the population back home make the fact it happens here any less true?

Dude, it happens with everyone in all demographics. And if they aren't spending stupid money on clothes, they're spending stupid money on cars. Or boats. Or guns. Or sporting goods. Or hunting gear. Or crap at Whole Foods.

The irony of Dmart's protestations and defenses of all things Korean is that if you were to believe him, there is nothing unique about Korean culture or behaviour.  Everything that happens here, according to Mart, also happens back home. 

Pretty much, yes. People are people. Outside of some tribal rainforest society or warzones or a few other places, people's routines are pretty much the same around the world and that drives them to being rather similar. They also have the same impulses, urges, and desires. People are FAR FAR FAR more similar than they are different. Pretty much anything that happens back home or in Korea has some sort of equivalent behavior in any other country.

You've been here a long time, isn't it time to move on from the "WTF, everything is so different!!!" phase?

Or boats. Or guns.

Gunboats.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8azbYf4oio

But basically I agree with 'Tino here. It doesn't seem spectacularly different compared to back home. People buy all kinds of dumb expensive stuff just because it makes them feel swanky. I imagine that's true (for a certain population) in most materialistic societies. Not everyone does it (my girlfriend doesn't do it). But, some people do it.

The worst is furniture. The prices are outrageous. And the quality is absolute shite. Cheap particle board inside with weird, plasticky, faux wood on the outside. Or that brown leather sofa that 97% of the households in the country own.

A lot of the furniture is designed to be thrown away given how frequently people move and the fact that things might not fit in another apartment. At least that's how it is for some families. Some families do have really nice stuff. And many families do have cheap crap and probably paid too much for it.

I notice that furniture tends to be nicer in the rural areas and that in Seoul, it tends to really be crappy. Same with pricing. A lot of it is the same stuff, but in some of the rural areas you have local craftsmen of varying, but more often than not, higher quality.

We got a great table from Ikea for around 250,000 total (frame + top) and I see the same table in a lot of Koreans' re-modelling apartment photos.

Good grief people, IKEA is the Reese's or Chipotle of furniture. It's got decent stuff at it's price point, but it's not the be all end all. And at times it's more like the Coldstone of furniture in that it can be hideous trash. Not saying Korean furniture is any better, but "I know good furniture- IKEA!!!!" OMFG, really?

Most Americans don't care about high-end brands enough to pay for them so we have tons of stores like TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Ross, etc. These stores sell higher end stuff at a discount, usually overstock items. 9 of 10 people will go there instead of Macy's.

Macy's winter sale is going on right now (although the BIG discount has passed). Prices pretty much are what you'd pay at TJ Maxx or Marshall's. Also, Korea has outlet stores too. You just have to shop around. Only rubes stroll into Hyundai and pay the price on the tag.

However, I think the OP's point that a few people seem to miss or ignore is that the items in question were low quality, but extremely expensive.  Those two things don't add up and is why he's angry. If you pay $1200 for a coat, you want it to the be the best quality and last for years, but I'm guessing he got more of a Gmarket vibe from it.

Again, I cannot emphasize this enough- The price on the tag is not always what the item is sold at and not always what people are paying. If you're paying the price on the tag, you're shopping wrong. I'd almost say that the price is deliberately inflated and they know they won't do many sales at that price. It is priced that way either A) You get lucky and someone just buys it without caring (or under pressure from an SO). B) You can mark it down and then someone, ala Chinese style, can brag about how much they haggled it down. I can't tell you how many times I bought Korean clothing that had way overinflated prices on the tag and was sold for reasonable rates in actuality.

Also, I think OP might have some confirmation bias. Anyone who wears designer clothing, if they're honest with themselves, can point to a couple items that they bought back home that haven't held up and yes, were probably made in Vietnam and not in Italy. 

I kind of feel like OP was doing something along these lines-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8gsNojPhA8

Sorry but I think DeMartino's spidey senses started tingling when he thought Koreans were being attacked and he leapt to their defense without really getting the OP's point.

The point isn't that Koreans (and people all over the world) waste their money on things that aren't worth it purely for the prestige of the brand or label.  The point is that clothes that are absolutely terrible quality are sold for an insanely high price here.  Same with furniture as Zola pointed out.  I'd say it's even more brazen with furniture.

I have to say that I never noticed it back home.  If the quality is terrible then the price would reflect it.  Not so much in Korea.

The point is that clothes that are absolutely terrible quality are sold for an insanely high price here.  Same with furniture as Zola pointed out.

Again, the Korean sticker price rule. If you're paying what's actually on the price tag, you're shopping stupid. That price is NOT what the item is typically sold at. As far as quality, it varies highly and I suspect some of the stuff back home wasn't quite as good a quality as you fondly remember.

But yes, there's some crappy clothing here. Don't buy it. You aren't forced to and it's not the only clothing sold. I didn't shop at Kinney Shoes back home either as well or pay up the rear for Tommy Hilfiger's overpriced shoddy crap.

Sorry but I think DeMartino's spidey senses started tingling when he thought Koreans were being attacked and he leapt to their defense without really getting the OP's point.

The point isn't that Koreans (and people all over the world) waste their money on things that aren't worth it purely for the prestige of the brand or label.  The point is that clothes that are absolutely terrible quality are sold for an insanely high price here.  Same with furniture as Zola pointed out.  I'd say it's even more brazen with furniture.

I have to say that I never noticed it back home.  If the quality is terrible then the price would reflect it.  Not so much in Korea.

Agree with all of this. Even Koreans complain about this. Many of the more shopping savvy ones will gladly pay the cost to import certain items and brands from overseas, even when they're available here, because it still comes out cheaper, and the quality is noticeably higher.

Even the chaebols do it, and they can more than afford to pay the exorbitant prices. No one likes to get ripped off.

But I don't know, the lure of the department store is always there for some people. People like to try things on, and instant gratification is hard to fight sometimes, hence why department stores still manage to exist.

The point is that clothes that are absolutely terrible quality are sold for an insanely high price here.  Same with furniture as Zola pointed out.

Again, the Korean sticker price rule. If you're paying what's actually on the price tag, you're shopping stupid. That price is NOT what the item is typically sold at. As far as quality, it varies highly and I suspect some of the stuff back home wasn't quite as good a quality as you fondly remember.

But yes, there's some crappy clothing here. Don't buy it. You aren't forced to and it's not the only clothing sold. I didn't shop at Kinney Shoes back home either as well or pay up the rear for Tommy Hilfiger's overpriced shoddy crap.

Where did I praise the quality of goods back home?  Read it again.  I said that if the quality was terrible then the price would reflect it.   

If Mr. Kim next door wants to spend his money on some overpriced piece of wood, it's no skin off your nose. What's the point in belittling his choices?

Where did I praise the quality of goods back home?  Read it again.  I said that if the quality was terrible then the price would reflect it.

Sometimes, not always. Just look at food. Slap "Fair-Trade" or "Organic" or put it in some foodie-hippy package and suddenly people think it's better. The average person couldn't judge ketchups in a blind taste test but they'll pay more for Heinz. Same with bottled water. The same holds true for clothing, unless you think the Pakistani factory is doing a markedly different job between its Target and it's Calvin Klein shirts.

You've been here a long time, isn't it time to move on from the "WTF, everything is so different!!!" phase?

The old DeMartino making up comments that you could counter.  Since you were quoting me could you please highlight where I was in the "WTF, everything is so different!!!@ phase? 

Seriously, man.  Don't just BS. 

The point that DeMartino is wildly trying to steer away from and get into one of his rabbit hole frantic attacks on the west arguments is that Korean department stores tend to be absurdly over-priced.  Korean outlet stores and malls often don't have great deals like ones back in the states.  Those are just observable facts that we all are able to know after living here.  Those are facts that Koreans who have spent time abroad also know.  Just a simple truth.  Don't get too upset by it Martin. 

We got a great table from Ikea for around 250,000 total (frame + top) and I see the same table in a lot of Koreans' re-modelling apartment photos.

Good grief people, IKEA is the Reese's or Chipotle of furniture. It's got decent stuff at it's price point, but it's not the be all end all. And at times it's more like the Coldstone of furniture in that it can be hideous trash. Not saying Korean furniture is any better, but "I know good furniture- IKEA!!!!" OMFG, really?

I think you haven't been to Ikea for awhile. They have great stuff at affordable prices. Sure, there is their cheap wooden furniture but you get what you pay for.

If you take a look at Korean people's re-modelling projects then you can spot a lot of Ikea stuff.

Or are you trashing the stylistic points of Koreans? Say it ain't so!

Martino - So you want me to haggle the price of a jacket at Lotte Dept. store?  The price on the tag is not the real price?  Yeah, you can do that at a market but a dept. store..  Isn't it illegal to falsify the price at corporate places? 

Anyways, definitely not gonna start an argument about anything Korean with you.  It's a fact that for the quality of products Koreans produce, the price is extremely overpriced.  Protectionism and lack of foreign competition has made Korean consumers think this is normal and cost them tons of money and left them with inferior products. 

Just go to Uniqlo and see how packed it is.  A foreign company entered the marketplace and offered decent clothing at an affordable price.  Koreans drank it up like soju on a Friday night.   If Koreans want to sell their products abroad without high tariffs, they're gonna have to let the waygooks sell their goods here as well.  It's been happening and that's why we see lower priced high-quality products at Costco and some other places.  Have you been to Costco??  It's the busiest store in Korea and the highest revenue producing  Costco in the world.  Looks like Koreans have been waiting for this reprieve instead of being held hostage by their Chaebols.

And what's great about all this??  Now Korean companies will up their game and make more competitive products.  See how free market capitalism benefits the consumer? 

I'm curious how much is it that it's actual craftmanship we are pay for and how much of it is just arbitary numbers put on something.  After all, the company Superme sold a single brick to the public for $30.  This generation seems to throw their money at something if it's hyped up enough.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPLWTT3ZVMo

I order my winter shit from ll bean.  Coat, boots, thermal underwear, etc.  Fleece slippers for my schools during the colder months, some rain boot type shoes that are slip on, etc.  I don't buy general fashion from them.  But warmth for a good price even with duties and shipping is cheaper than here.  Plus none of the tiny sizes that are too tight garbage.

The point that DeMartino is wildly trying to steer away from and get into one of his rabbit hole frantic attacks on the west arguments is that Korean department stores tend to be absurdly over-priced.  Korean outlet stores and malls often don't have great deals like ones back in the states.  Those are just observable facts that we all are able to know after living here.  Those are facts that Koreans who have spent time abroad also know.  Just a simple truth.  Don't get too upset by it Martin.

Clearly all those Koreans who order cheaper and better-quality Samsung washing machines and Hyundai cars from the US are actually not real Koreans and just anti-Korea foreign devils! KOREAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA