How do foreign visitors get a tax refund on cosmetics bought in Korea?

Duty-free shops and tax refund shops are not the same

A duty-free shop — marked “Duty Free” — sells goods without tax from the start, which is why duty-free purchases cannot be refunded. A tax refund works differently: the value-added tax and individual consumption tax on goods bought at a shop marked “Tax Refund” or “Tax Free” are returned to you as a foreign visitor. The Korea Tourism Organization splits this into two systems: an immediate refund and a general (later) refund.

Who qualifies

Foreigners who have stayed in Korea for less than six months qualify, as do overseas Koreans who have lived abroad for two years or more and have been in Korea for three months or less. Each purchase must be KRW 15,000 or more, and you must take the goods out of Korea within three months of buying them. You do not qualify if you have stayed in Korea for six months or more, if you are employed in Korea, if you are a diplomat or a member of the US military stationed in Korea, or if the purchase was made in a company’s name or through someone else.

Cosmetics and perfume are eligible. Items you have opened or used before leaving Korea are not, and neither are duty-free goods or services customs cannot inspect, such as cooked food or massages.

Immediate refund: at the till

At a shop offering immediate refunds, your passport is checked at payment and you pay the price with the tax already taken off. It applies to single purchases from KRW 15,000 up to (but not including) KRW 1 million, and your immediate-refund purchases on one trip can total no more than KRW 5 million. The minimum used to be KRW 30,000; it has been KRW 15,000 since 2024. Not every shop with a “Tax Refund” or “Tax Free” sign does this — only some of them.

General refund: keep the voucher

Otherwise, you pay the full price and the shop gives you a tax refund voucher. There are four ways to claim:

• Downtown: at a staffed downtown refund counter or an unmanned kiosk, for single purchases of KRW 6 million or less; the goods still need customs export confirmation when you leave Korea.
• Airport: when leaving Korea, after customs clearance, at a refund counter or self-service kiosk.
• Mailbox: after customs clearance at your port of departure, drop the voucher in the refund mailbox.
• Mobile: through the mobile site or app provided by the refund service company, submitting the voucher after customs has confirmed the export.

Buying cosmetics in Bukchon

Bukchon Wellness Museum is a pharmacy at 33-2 Gyedong-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul (1st–2nd floors), a 3-minute walk from Anguk Station (Line 3), Exit 3. Bukchon Wellness Museum offers immediate tax refunds for foreign visitors, with a “TAX FREE” sign at the entrance. Its featured Korean cosmetics brands are A.THEORY, LIENJANG, BLANCMUSE, 옵티팜 and LISSEDERM, and it is open every day of the year, from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

The eligibility rules and limits above are the general conditions of the national system, as described by the Korea Tourism Organization.