Korea Expat BLog

CostCo Korea

[ Note : this initial Post is from a Decade ago Post-Millennium, so please check recent Update at bottom of this Page – as we are keeping this original Post as CostCo is part of modern Korean history ]

OK, you are happy . you can use your Membership Card from home, though payment is limited to CASH, local SamSung Credit Card or foreign-issued (NOT domestic) American Express .

occupying vast warehouses like back-home roughly a third of the products are same as States-side with the rest swapped with local counterparts . they do not have many product choices . but if they have it : it is the cheapest in all of Korea – or, used to be for import companies have set up their own shop at mediating sites mentioned in the On-Line Shopping Mall page . countless importers  have opened shop on-line, but most specialize in certain areas like, um pasta and each mall charges extra so if you order pasta and cake mix you need to order from two different places . electronic products mostly larger one like DVD systems, LCD-TV and refrigerators are again very few, the best price in a good selection among mid-range models .

but TWO bad news : 1. CostCo has only 6 outlets in ALL of Korea, and 2. they do NOT have an on-line Internet Mall .
( but several on-line shops have opened up to do the shopping for you and deliver with surcharge – some listed at the bottom of this page )

Appended Christmas 2015 : they now have a total of 12 branches throughout Korea AND an On-Line Store !

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OPEN HOURS : mostly 10am~10pm unless noted other-wise in each map below

  • following local distribution-improvement law : larger super-marts are closed every TWO Week-Days of each Month, which is listed on each branch in map below
  • then close NEW Years Day, Lunar NEW Years and ThanksGiving Day

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[ CostCo Locations ]

it is probably nowhere near you for they are at three corners of Seoul borders and then three beyond, at the time of initial Post March 2009 – has increased to a total of 12 throughout the Korean Peninsula by latest Update end of 2015 ! the three within SEOUL limits remain the same, while more added out of the Capital – and the latter six branches added in the MAP at the bottom of this Page .

  • CLOSED second and fourth Sundays, NEW YEARS, Lunar New Years and ThanksGiving Day .

*watch out because those tiny maps are misleading in proximity . most nowhere near a subway station .
as always in order of Geographical location from West and clock-wise ..
from Christmas 2015 : each store locations, open hours and contact coordinates will be updated in the map below

 

CostCo YangPyong Store at West end of Seoul, far across the Han River in YongDeungPo – a relatively poor neighborhood among earlier factories, now with affordable residence. best if you are coming in from both airports that serve the Capital . Tel.02-2679-1234 OPEN 10am~10pm
(doubles as Head Office on the 2nd floor Tel.02-2630-2600)
– Subway Line 2 Exit 3 turn around and enter first alley to the right, past YongDeungPo Hospital, walk 3 large blocks and see the sign of the Holy Grail .

CostCo SangBong Store at North-East end of Seoul, the entrance to Northern satellite neighborhood of Nowon, best if you are coming down from Northern U.S. Bases in EuiJongBu or DongDuCheon . Tel.02-439-1144 OPEN 10am~10pm
– Subway Line 7 SangBong Station Exit 2 and walk 2 large blocks East and is on your right .

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CostCo YangJae Store, Seoul at South-West end – may be the richest real-estate property CostCo has as they require huge space – although tucked at South-end of posh GangNam district in the Capital, best if you are coming into Seoul on Southern Highways . located one block West of YangJae Intersection (called “IC”) on Seoul-Busan Highway “KyungBoo GoSok Doro” . Tel.02-572-5959 OPEN 8am~10pm

– Subway Line 3 YangJae Station Exit 7 and take a taxi 10 minutes without traffic, or get off at NamBoo Terminal Station Exit 3 if you wanna check out KukJe JeonJa Center (International Electronics Building mention in Shopping Complex Page) for games and then take a taxi though a few minutes further .

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(out of Seoul boundaries)

CostCo ilSan Store is at the entrance to the Satelite City of ilSan, North-West out of Seoul limits – at South-Eastern corner of SEOUL’s second massive satellite city . however right across South the Han River lies Kimpo Airport (for Domestic, Japan and China) and further access to InCheon (International) Airport . OPEN 10am~10pm
– Subway Line 3 BaekSeok Station Exit 1 walk straight past California Hotel 2 small blocks, turn right and is on the next block to your left .

CostCo DaeJeon Store – haven’t been here but Southern DaeJeon just two blocks North of West DaeJeon Train Station (NOT Subway) “SeoDaeJeon Yeok”. Tel.042-539-1234 OPEN 10am~10pm
– Subway Line 1 OhRyong Station Exit 2 walk straight West one large block, turn left (before railroad tracks) at large intersection, and after 3~5 blocks it should be to your right .

CostCo DaeGu Store is Northern area of DaeGu near EXCO Exhibition Hall – at the border of residential DaeGu to the South and modern industrual zone to the North . no subway nearby so take a taxi from the airport (10 miutes) or KTX Train Station (15 minutes without traffic). right across from 2 apartment complexes : CheonGu YooSung and HwaSung Town “Apartu”. if you see container warehouses you’ve gone too far . Tel.053-380-1234 OPEN 9am~10pm

*six branches added later are only mapped below, and largely shows geographic census of modern dwelling in South Korea – mostly gathered around Metropolitan (which includes its massive satellite cities) SEOUL :

[ CostCo On-Line Shopping Sites ]
these are not directly operated by CostCo but do the shopping for you with surcharge . most are independent with not much expertise, so expect unstable menus . most in Korean and prices differ, adding different percentage of actual CostCo price and only some accepting credit cards – actual CostCo Korea branches accept only cash, domestic SamSung Cards and foreign American Express . some do not deal large items such as furnitures . I haven’t ordered from them, but placed in the order of tidiness and years of operation . watch out for those that do NOT have a customer post board .
*Post-Script : these may not be updated, as the whole scene is changing when CostCo finally opened their own On-Line Store, so different WebStores appearing to ship what the Original CostCo don’t . besides, it is the dawn of iKEA age in South Korea .

( earlier shop-for-you )
http://www.acost.co.kr from GwangJu
http://www.costmania.com (small items only) from Mapo, SEOUL West
http://www.supercostco.com (few large items) DEFUNCT by 2013
http://www.costcocafe.com (small items only) DEFUNCT by 2013
http://www.costplaza.co.kr (not many large items) DEFUNCT 2013

( 2012 joiners )
http://www.costlove.com basic from MokDong, SEOUL West towards Gimpo Airport – cheapest adding only W600 but NO credit cards, and shipping 2~3 times per Week .
http://www.costwell.co.kr from ilSan, North-Western Satellite City of SEOUL – adds almost 20% but accept credit cards and ship-out daily week-days .
http://www.cobaro.co.kr from YangJae, Southern KangNam, SEOUL

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– Korea Expat BLog, March 3rd 2009 –

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[ March 15th 2010 Update ]
against long~ time local conspiracy theories that this closely-knit Korea’s second city AND major port was able to withstand holding off invasion of foreign super-marts ..
finally CostCo has landed in Busan or Busan where many English teachers has made temporary home .

CostCo Busan or Pusan Store is East from downtown just before you cross the river towards the immensely modern Centum City Shopping Complex and onto HaeUnDae Beach resort area .. in SooYoung . Tel.051-757-7100

still this is quite a remote area and taxi recommended for you have to stuff a lot anyways 😉 but if you must :
MangMi Subway Station Exit 4 and across the road OR Exit 2 and turn around
to follow the road heading North under the freeway above and after a large 10 blocks a long walk about 30 minutes
you will see the building afar onto your Right, but will have to make a ‘P’ turn i.e., go straight PAST the building you see, turn Right and then take another Right .

 

[ February 24th 2013 Update ] so far CostCo KOREA has added two on the above at KTX Bullet Train Station hub of GwangMyung on the South-Western outskirts of SEOUL, and motor city Ulsan, totalling NINE branches mostly in hard-to-find tucked-away addresses on the Korean Penninsula .

( Christmas 2015 Update ) How times-a-changin’ as CostCo Korea now has a dozen stores around the Peninsula ! and each branch information including location and open hours will be regularly updated on our map above, as I have shopped in almost h alf while living in SEOUL and Busan or Pusan //

( March 4 Update among Wuhan Corona Virus ) my my my, how times have changed as CostCo President proudly annouced YangJae Branch is THE most profitable branch in the whole World – understandably as branches has somewhat different items and this being at the South-end of posh GangNam, the Beverly Hills of the Capital of SEOUL thus of all Korea . there are now a total of 16 branches over the Korean Peninsula, of which 9 is within an hour’s driving distance from SEOUL . will soon write a dedicated Page about each neighborhoods as it tells much about CostCo strategy as well as its die-hard customers .

and you remember the early times when individual On-Line sellers popped-up just taking a shop-and-delivery fee to shop around for you and ship-out to you.. well now CostCo Korea delivers, although with some culprit :

  1. its webpage is NOT easily navigable like home-bred Korean so-called (On-Line) Shopping Malls,
  2. and once you order you don’t have control of changes or cancellation unless you call-in 1899-9900
  3. but here’s the problem : during the Wuhan Corona Virus mess from early 2020, people have been calling-in to check on availability of disposable safety masks and using this as an excuse, CostCo Korea currently just doesn’t receive phone calls .

but again all-in-all, you can count on CostCo’s 90-day long no-questions asked Return-and-Refund Policy Jesus, unheard-of in Korean history .

– Last Update : March 4 Wednesday 2020

2 Comments

Today is Oct 19, 2018 and I can confirm that the Yangpyung Costco will accept your US Citi VISA credit card. I used my card to purchase a hot dog and a cart full of groceries.

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