Hello.
I'll be spending about a year in S. Korea and since I'm here I'd like to check out first hand all these Korean monitors I hear so much about. But is it any cheaper to buy them here than online somewhere? And where can I even find them?
Hoping someone has some experience with this.
I lived in Gangnam for over year before fucking off and going to China. I can't remember what district the tech buildings are in but iirc back in 2009 and 2010 with taxes and everything figured into it everything costs more. Then when you leave the country it's not cheap to get it shipped out of the country back to wherever you live.
IMO if you plan on only being there for a year don't build something you wouldn't be willing to pay good money to ship back to the states.
Do you have plans to stay longer?
I never looked at monitors, but in Seoul there is a large computer store/markets
You can get everything for high end to low end, used to new. It amazing... Can also haggle a bit
Best part of this reddit post and where I went to get all of my current PC parts
If you want to get a computer at a decent price, you need to go to the buildings behind Yongsan Station; you can take the ghetto bridge connected to the back of the station to get there. When you get back there, head into μ μΈμκ°, it's the building right across the parking lot in front of the bridge exit, should be number 21.
Do not buy at the I park mall, its a amazing place but kinda spendy, go out to the place listed, pretty easy to spot. You won't regret it.
I'm actually here for military so when I do leave getting things to wherever I go next is pretty much paid for up to a certain weight (which I'm pretty sure I won't be near) so that's not too much of an issue for me right now.
This is some good info, much thanks. I'm planning on taking a trip into Seoul next weekend so now I have some places to scout out.
Wanted to bring something to your attention.
@MFZuul mentioned haggling.
The tech market is so large haggling isn't really necessary. In my experience, most vendors wouldn't haggle in the first place. However, some vendors will sit you down and take out a sheet and start listing parts for your computer. Usually they will write down the price of each part too so you can use that as a guide if you have the balls to walk away.
Don't forget to get a power supply that switches between 120v and 220v for convenience (I think that's the voltage for US and Korea...I can't recall!).
Don't be like me and not get suits (or dresses if you are a girl) and art while you're there!
Suits are stupid cheap and look great, just make sure they use hand stitching and not glue. If its a quick turn around, like a couple of days, and cheaper than other places then its probably glue.
You can get hand painted knock off paintings of some expensive art that looks just like the real thing. The only way to tell is to look at the faces, some of them will be little more Korean lol ( I really wanted this picture a Napoleon, never got it..... Was like 50 bucks for a 6'x4' painting with a fancy frame) you can even bring a print out of a picture to them and they will paint it for you.
@fruitbrut is kinda right, sorry if I was misleading. You're not going to get them down past msrp, but many of the shops will try to over price. I would just talk them down to normal pirce. Now you can buy all your parts from them, but tbh it can be cheaper to buy from Amazon with prime some parts, and they will want to build it for you.
Any power supply by a major manufacturer will accept 120-240 and onbase it should be 120 anyway, lest if you're on one of the bigger bases.
I was in Osan, lots of suit makers and art guys right outside the gate and the train was just a walk away. Don't drink you money away like me! Lol
They also got better phones over there. I would get a couple used.
lol wide open. Sorry can't resist. Generally speaking there are some neat features on phones over there we don't have.
Like TV antennas lol
They love watching TV on their phones over there. Mine has one, but it doesn't work in the states
More awesome info.
I guess depending on the price of parts I'll be buying from in country or waiting for Amazon. Probably easier to buy from a store if the price difference is small enough. We'll have to see how AMD's offerings turn out before I really commit to building a new rig. A spreadsheet of prices is probably exactly what I want, too. At least I can easily pick out the stores with the lower numbers to start with and see if I can work my way down from there. I've also got plans for a custom mini ITX case that should make traveling with a gaming computer easier on my end. I wonder if there's any restrictions on importing stuff from China as I'm looking at Lian Li to build the case.
Yeah, on base is 120v so I should be good there, but like @MFZuul pointed out it shouldn't be an issue if it was 240v.
And I do plan on getting a suit or two. I think I saw at least 2 places right out of the gate and I hadn't even looked down the little alleyways yet. Not to mention the store in the BX that will work up a suit.
Don't get stuff on base... Unless others vouch for it. On base at osan was a rip off when I was there
Yeah, I didn't really plan to. Everything seems overly expensive in the Exchange.
The prices we see for monitors on ebay etc. say 'free shipping' because the shipping cost is factored in. If you look on korean websites and etailers you can indeed find the same monitors for less cost. Add 'korean' to one of your google search languages to see for yourself. The question is whether you can get it back to wherever for cheaper than it would cost to just buy it on ebay. If you can pack the monitor around your underwear in your luggage, then this might work out pretty good. Or you can have yourself one very awkward carry-on item :-)
The current administration has made very specific noises about making imported products more expensive here in the US. If they follow through on this then the differential will only increase, so it's not a bad idea to get one in Korea.
Good point about importing back into the US. I'm pretty sure that once I have it and try bringing it back as military import shouldn't be much of an issue. I won't have to resort to stuffing it in a checked bag and hoping for the best.
Though that reminds me, I wish it were easier to find the panels themselves online. I was looking to see how much it'd cost to build a monitor of my own from sourcing Chinese manufacturers and assembling myself. Probably more expensive in the end but I'd get a monitor exactly how I'd want it. Again, like my case I'm designing, it'd be nice and portable. Though that's less impressive for a mini ITX case than a monitor.
phones in korea are dirt cheap. you can probably make quite a profit buying some and bringing them home with you.
source:several cousins of mine lived in korea for years.
