On the 20th, a foreign family and two Chinese men walked one after another into an optical shop in Seoul's Myeong-dong district. When the first customers selected their preferred language — English, Japanese or Chinese — from a kiosk at the entrance, an English-speaking optician came out to greet them.
Inside the store, a foreign couple with a basket tucked under one arm was busy shopping. The basket held not one or two items but five or six pairs of eyeglasses and sunglasses. Nearby, a group of foreigners who had finished their purchases struck poses for a commemorative photo with an optician. Another employee, looking well practiced, snapped their picture from across the room. Buying glasses had itself become an experience.
An American woman in her 20s whom the reporters met at the shop said eyeglass prices were far cheaper than in the United States, that fixed pricing made the shops trustworthy and that being able to have glasses made and taken home within an hour was a major advantage. She added that she had visited Korea several times and that on recent trips she stopped by an optical shop each time to get new sunglasses or glasses.
Foreign Visitors Come on Weekdays and Weekends Alike, and Opticians Are Studying Foreign Languages
Optical shops are emerging as a new shopping destination among foreign visitors to South Korea. Word has spread, mainly among tourists who have visited the country several times, that Korea's eyeglass-making system is both cheap and fast. Added to that are demand for eyeglasses as a K-fashion item and a travel trend of experiencing everyday Korean life firsthand. Industry officials said optical shops are becoming part of the itinerary for foreigners sampling the K-lifestyle, alongside Olive Young, Daiso, pharmacies and convenience stores.
Card spending by foreigners at optical shops rose 55.1% in the first eight months of this year from a year earlier, according to the Korea Tourism Organization. That outpaced the 48.5% increase in total foreign card spending in the tourism sector over the same period. The growth rate climbed from 49.6% in January to 69.7% in August, pointing to steadily expanding demand.
Chinese demand has risen especially steeply. Through July, spending at optical shops by Chinese visitors surged 183.2% from a year earlier. Thailand followed at 56.9%, Taiwan at 50.7% and the United States at 36.0%. By region, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, a frequent destination for Chinese travelers, posted the largest gain at 138.6%, followed by sharp increases in Busan at 99.7% and Seoul at 53.3%.
Optical shops in major commercial districts are also scrambling to handle the growing number of foreign customers. The head of one Myeong-dong shop said foreign tourist visits were rising steadily on weekdays and weekends alike, and that because visitors came regardless of nationality — from China, Japan and Europe — opticians were studying foreign languages.
Eyewear companies as well as individual shops now view foreign tourists as a key customer group. According to Lookoptics, which runs the Look Optical chain, foreign purchases are increasing at stores near Gangnam Station, at Lotte World Mall, at the Lotte Outlet Dongbusan branch and at major department store locations. The sharpest sales growth came at the Look Optical Gangnam Station store, where foreign sales rose for six straight months from March through August. Sales jumped 207.1% from a year earlier in June and roughly doubled in both July and August.
The nationality mix differs by store, the company said. American customers account for 70% at the Lotte World Mall store and ethnic Chinese customers for 90% at the Dongbusan store, while purchases by Southeast Asian customers are rising at the AK Suwon and Lotte Department Store Ansan branches, the company said.
From Eye Exam to Finished Glasses in 30 Minutes, and Optical Shops Become Travel Products
Industry officials point to an eyeglass-making process that is simple, fast and inexpensive. In the United States, apart from some shops that employ optometrists, customers generally have their eyes examined at a clinic and then take a prescription elsewhere to have glasses made. Costs are incurred at both the exam and production stages, and fabrication takes days to weeks. One industry official said China and Southeast Asia have no hospital eye exam requirement but that Korea is often cheaper on price.
There is also strong demand for Korean eyewear as part of K-fashion. A Lookoptics official said offering the same design in a range of sizes — small, medium, large and extra large — so customers can choose by face shape and fit preference is another differentiator, and that being able to pick glasses in a design and size that suit them well is seen as a factor raising satisfaction among foreign customers.
Korean optical shops themselves are already drawing attention as travel products on inbound travel platforms serving foreign visitors. On the inbound platform Creatrip, branches of domestic eyewear chains including Manomos, Eyegentry, Davich Optical, Optic Life and Look Optical are registered as travel products or are in the process of being added. Bookings made through the platform come with a special discount of around 10% on top of standard coupons. The listings also tout that the entire process, from eye exam to walking out with new glasses, takes just 30 minutes.
One eyewear industry official said that considering the convenient eyeglass-making process, the prices and the trendy products that can be worn as fashion items, Korean optical shops can serve as a shopping destination that satisfies K-lifestyle demand, adding that the goal is to let foreign tourists enjoy the experience of getting glasses made during a trip to Korea as travel content in its own right.