In South Korea there are 16 public holidays scattered throughout the calendar year but everyone has just one week’s entitlement of annual leave. The per capita income of the population of Korea has recently started to overtake that of Japan. Koreans don’t get to call a place their own until around the time they retire – in Seoul property is even more expensive than in Tokyo or Sydney. Have you guessed what I’m driving at? If you’ve got cash to spare, you’re in no hurry to become a mortgage slave and you can’t take a proper holiday lasting at least a month, then what’s left to do? The answer’s simple – you go shopping. I’ve never had to queue to get into a shopping centre before – not even when the new Westfield opened in Sydney – but I did at the entrance to a Shinsegae mall. At three in the afternoon on a normal Saturday. And now, let’s get down to brass tacks…

There’s shopping in Seoul to suit all tastes and budgets, even if the latter is measured in loose change. And if that really is the case then head for the so-called night market known as Doota-Dongdaemun Market for cheap shopping on a grand scale. This market is spread across eight floors, including some subterranean ones. But though the goods on offer might be cheap and even if the designers are students of design rather than household names, they’re anything but run-of-the-mill.

The children’s floor is worth a special look. As you watch people buying children’s clothing by the kilo at prices not to be found anywhere else on this planet, it’s hard not to feel sharp pangs for a child – or, at a push, a grandchild – of your own. You’ll be in raptures at the abundance of colours and the wealth of fantasy. The contrast with the drabness of the clothes that I wore during my own childhood in the Soviet Union brings tears to my eyes. Mind you, to be blunt about it children’s clothing in Australia isn’t exactly hot on quality or good looks either. But at this market you’ll find both in spades. 

Shifting up a rung on the shopping ladder to shopping malls, I have to say that this is the most popular form of shopping not just in Seoul, but throughout Asia-Pacific and Australia, to say nothing of the USA or Canada. Once you get pulled into this world of shopping, then that’s it – there’s no way back! It’s impossible to resist the lure of the crowds, the 15-percent discounts and the euphoria that comes from being a consumer.

There are four ‘brands’ of shopping malls – or rather, shopping cities – in Seoul: Hyundai, Lotte, Shinsegae and Galleria. In each of these shopping cities there are Duty Free sections, where you can register your purchase as tax-exempt at the till, rather than having to run the gauntlet of bureaucracy to get your money back. For Japanese who are flying in (they account for the lion’s share of visiting shoppers) or Koreans who are flying out Duty Free cities have been built not far from Incheon airport.

You can easily find your way around all the shopping centres with your eyes closed – on the ground floor at street level make sure you don’t miss the Korean-made skincare products for facials. They’re really cheap, really good quality and really effective. When you make a purchase you get showered with presents. The best known brands are Isa Knox, Ohui and Hera. They’re not quite up to the standard of Botox, but they’ll iron out your wrinkles for at least half a day. And they certainly are up to the standard of the most expensive and most heavily hyped European brands. You can breeze through the clothing departments on the other floors, apart from the third or fourth floor, where Korean brands such as System, Time, Mine and Kuho are to be found, the last of which belongs to Samsung. The first three of these brands are fairly classical in style, but spiced up and with a flare to the cut that is peculiarly Korean – bolder geometry and less of the zaniness to be found in Japan. Kuho is based on almost the same principles, but is a shade wackier. Top quality and incredibly varied materials are used – for instance, a dress might be made from the thinnest sheepskin combined with cashmere or knitwear.

But if you’re a fan of brands that are household names then hold back before you splash out in one of the downtown shopping malls. I’ll let you in on a little secret: twenty kilometres outside Seoul that is an entire outlet city, where they’ve got absolutely everything, even the really big names, only from last season and sometimes at a tenth of the price. They’ve even got the brands that never appear in the sales or on discount. The city is called Chelsea and it’s owned by Shinsegae, who back in 1929 opened the first department store in Korea. They’re old hands at this game.  

And now for the holiest of holies – the boutiques and the discount stores. There’s a boutique for enlightenment – all Koreans love it and it’s called Boon The Shop. It’s located in Cheongdam-dong (Seoul’s equivalent of Potts Point in Sydney – the property prices are off the top of the scale) and it is owned by Shinsegae, which means that there are also franchises of Boon in their chain of shopping centres. Why do I say that it’s for enlightenment? The way the space inside is used is beautiful, but very unusual. There’s the now slightly wearisome combination of wood, glass and metal. The prices are astronomical, which can’t be explained by the customs duties – the brands aren’t Korean and you’d find them in any other major city. But the service is amazing – they’ll accompany you to the lift and bow to you at great length when seeing you out.

On the lower floor of this boutique there’s an exhibition space, empty except for a sculpture in the vein of Rodin’s ‘Thinker’. There’s a slightly unappealing smell of fried food coming from the neighbouring cafe.

A stone’s throw from Boon The Shop there are two more shops that are worth a visit: Koon, which is grungier and cheaper, and Gallery Mui – beautiful design and good, decent brands.

Walk another 500 meters and, as you come out onto one of the main streets of the local answer to Potts Point, you’ll come across a cousin of Milan’s Corso Como 10. This concept store has exactly the same name but is owned by Samsung, while the design comes from Prada, who tried and tested the formula. This shop is run by the favourite daughter of Samsung’s C.E.O. and while it has yet to turn a profit, it’s already made its mark on the retail map of Seoul as it was the first concept store in the city. The design of its Milan counterpart is undoubtedly more interesting, but you have to give its creators their due as the choice of brands, the merchandising and everything else has been done to the highest standards. There are never any sales in this shop, but take heart – on Garosugil Street in Sinsa-dong there is an outlet store for Corso Como 10 where you can indulge yourself to your heart’s content. The street itself, each side lined with closely spaced gingko trees, looks like it could be somewhere in Europe. There are loads of restaurants, bars and interesting shops of kinds of different stripes to be found there. Go and spend a few hours hanging out there and browsing, you won’t regret it.

And just what could there be to regret, in any case? Take your time, because you’ll always find an excuse to go back to Seoul. The people, the service, the Koreans’ sense of humour and their good nature will stick in your memory, as will their unique culture, historically isolated from the rest of the world, and their ability to create something beautiful from the most unexpected forms and textures. It’s not for nothing that in 2010 Seoul was made a UNESCO City of Design.

I almost forgot – you can and will need to take a break from shopping in yet another place brought to you by Samsung – the Samsung Museum of Modern Art…