Why Japanese and Taiwanese Travelers Always Stock Up at Olive Young Myeongdong
What Japanese and Taiwanese travelers always pick up at Olive Young Myeongdong breaks down into three reasons. First, there are skincare and makeup items eligible for an instant tax refund: show your passport and spend 15,000 won or more, and the VAT is deducted right at the register. Second, there are "cosmetics for specific use" like sunscreen, items travelers need to stock up on during the trip because the personal import quantity is legally capped when they return to Japan or Taiwan. Third, there's the convenience available only at stores equipped with foreigner focused services, like the Myeongdong Town store, such as an instant refund desk and luggage storage. To actually turn this into savings, travelers need to know how much they must spend to get a refund, how large that refund can be, and how much they can carry home.
Olive Young Myeongdong: How Much Do You Need to Spend for an Instant Refund?
Nine Olive Young stores are clustered in Myeongdong, and among them, Olive Young Myeongdong Town is the top performing store nationwide, with roughly 95% of its sales coming from foreign customers. Myeongdong Town staffs English, Chinese, and Japanese speaking employees, runs its second floor as a dedicated floor for international tourists, and has a welcome gift counter, an instant refund desk, and a Wi-Fi lounge. If you want to store your luggage, the nearby Myeongdong 2-ga branch offers a carrier storage service.
The instant refund works by presenting your physical passport and spending 15,000 won or more, with the tax amount deducted immediately at checkout. However, hygiene products, shopping bags, and dried fruit are excluded from the refund. Travelers without a passport on hand, or those not registered with the Korea Customs Service, or those staying six months or longer, cannot receive the in-store refund; in that case, they must take a refund slip and process it at the post-departure refund counter at the airport.
Even Instant Refunds Have a Legal Cap
In-store instant refunds are capped under a notice from the Korea Customs Service. Under the "Special Provisions on Value Added Tax and Individual Consumption Tax for Foreign Tourists," instant refunds are available up to 1 million won per transaction and a cumulative 5 million won during the stay. This cap has applied since January 1, 2024, doubled from the previous limit of 500,000 won per transaction and a cumulative 2.5 million won. If a single payment exceeds 1 million won, the amount over that is excluded from the in-store instant refund and instead goes through the post-departure airport refund process, so if you're planning a high value purchase, it's better to split the payment across separate receipts.
What Do They Buy?
According to on-site reporting at the Olive Young Myeongdong store, it has established itself as a "one-stop shopping" destination where customers buy cosmetics and snacks together. There are two main categories tourists load up on.
- Skincare and makeup: serums, creams, cushion foundations, sunscreens, and sheet masks. The instant refund lowers the actual purchase price, and new products also cycle in faster here than at drugstores back home.
- Snacks: the food section, including cookies and snacks. This category accounts for a sales share nearly as large as beauty items, so the Myeongdong store has been expanding both its cosmetics and snack shelves together.
What these picks have in common: "items eligible for the instant refund, plus small volume products that are easy to pack without weighing down travel luggage."
What Japanese Travelers Should Check Before Heading Home
Under Japanese customs rules, goods purchased abroad are exempt from customs duty and consumption tax up to a combined 200,000 yen per person. Cosmetics purchased for personal use during the trip clear customs within this duty free personal allowance, and any amount over 200,000 yen is taxed on the excess. As long as you're not buying in bulk for resale, staying within this limit is all that's required.
Carry-on rules are separate. At Incheon International Airport, liquid, spray, and gel cosmetics must be in individual containers of 100ml or less, and these containers must fit into a single 1-liter clear zip-top bag per person to be allowed in the cabin. Skin toners, lotions, and sunscreens in containers larger than 100ml must go in checked baggage.
What Taiwanese Travelers Should Check Before Heading Home
Taiwan manages cosmetics under two categories. Items designated by Taiwan's Ministry of Health and Welfare as "cosmetics for specific use," such as sunscreen, hair dye, perm solution, and antiperspirant, have set import quantity limits even when brought in for personal use. For unopened, originally packaged items, up to 12 units per type and 36 units total clear customs without a separate permit; quantities beyond that can be ordered by customs to be returned or destroyed within a set deadline.
General cosmetics like serums and sheet masks, which don't fall under "cosmetics for specific use," aren't subject to this unit cap and instead clear customs within a "reasonable quantity for personal use." In other words, if you're planning to stock up on sunscreen at Myeongdong, it's safer to count units in advance to make sure you don't exceed the 12-per-brand, 36-total limit.
| Category | Japan | Taiwan |
|---|---|---|
| Import rules on return | Duty and consumption tax exempt up to a combined 200,000 yen per person | Cosmetics for specific use: up to 12 units per type and 36 units total (unopened, original packaging) |
| What it applies to | All goods purchased for use during the trip | Designated items such as sunscreen, hair dye, perm solution, and antiperspirant |
| General skincare and sheet masks | Counted within the 200,000 yen limit | No unit cap, subject to "reasonable quantity for personal use" |
Source: Olive Young Myeongdong Town store details (instant refund conditions)
Source: Korea Tourism Organization, Olive Young Myeongdong Globalstore instant refund guide
Source: Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Korea.net, Foreign tourist duty-free refund cap raised
Source: Financial News, Nine Olive Young stores in Myeongdong, 95% of sales from foreign customers
Source: Financial News, On-site report on cosmetics and snack one-stop shopping at Olive Young Myeongdong
Source: Japan Customs, Duty-free allowance for overseas travelers
Source: Incheon International Airport Corporation, Guide to restricted carry-on items
Source: Taipei Customs, Cosmetics carry-on customs clearance rules