Cosmetic shopping in Korea

Yesterday, I decided to pop into TonyMoly to get my friend a gift, as the cosmetics are so cute in there!!! Little did I know I would end up being stalked by a shop assistant…. Now shop assistants in Korea are persistent to say the least. As soon as you walk in a shop they are all over you like ants over candy. They will ask you if you need help and even if you say ‘No, I’m just looking’ they will stick by your side until they see someone else who is more likely to buy something. I get that they have been trained to do this but it’s bloody annoying!

Anyways back to the story. I went into TonyMoly in Dongdaemun and heard a shop assistant say something to me in Korea. ‘Mwhahaha’ I thought, I will just act like I can’t understand (well because I can’t…). But then I head her say Young-guk (English) to someone and for 2 seconds I was happy she didn’t say American which is suppose to be common here. FYI I haven’t been called American yet I don’t think… though I have been called Korean, Japanese, Russian and one other country which I have forgotten……. I don’t understand why as I think I look English (because I am!)

I keep going off the story! Sorry! So she said ‘Young-guk’ and I heard footsteps and this face with a big grin appeared! ‘Hello, May I help you’ said the too happy shop assistant. ‘Just looking’ I muttered and carried on looking. Then she kept picking up every product in the shop with a full description and demonstration. My hand had about 10 products on! I’m still washing the products off them. I tried to run away but the shop was small and she was stuck to my side all the time (there is no personal space here…).

She tried to spray one product in my face and looked hurt when I said no. She then showed me another product and told me it would get rid of my freckles!!! I was about to retort that you can’t get rid of freckles when she turned around with a hurt face and said ‘I’m just showing you products so you know what they are…’ FYI, The products have English on unlike the faceshop (I really do need a English speaker in the faceshop).

I also went to Olive and Young which was the opposite. The assistants didn’t come near me but hovered around the area and were talking to each other about me! I felt like a thief and you may think maybe they were worried about a foreigner being in there but it was in Doota so they should be used to foreigners!!