If you are thinking of buying a camera, then Seoul offers lot of options. Yongsan could be one of them but I’d strongly recommend you against buying your camera from Yongsan, preferably if you are planning to buy a DSLR camera.

Why not Yongsan?
Simply put, I have heard stories from my friends that they rip foreigners for all their money’s worth. Well, that could be an exaggeration, but they are not ‘foreigner friendly’. One of my friend who recently bought a camera from Yongsan had a hard time exchanging it on finding his piece slightly defective. He had to call in the cops to get it exchanged.

So where do I buy one?
Hyosung Camera. It is near Namdaemun Market – Gate 8 / Gate 2  (or  Hoehyeon Station, exit 5).  If you come out of Gate 8 of Namdaemun Market then walk towards your right and if you come out of gate 2 then walk left and you will see various shops lined up with cameras and lenses for sale as candies… It would be slightly difficult to locate Hyosung Camera amongst so many camera shops as all these shops would be shouting Canon, Nikon, Olympic, Sony out of their hoardings. But then look down and the moment you spot a black walk mat saying “English Service Available”, just walk in. Bingo! that is your shop.

Why Hyosung Camera?
One, because it is popular amongst the foreign community for its reliability. They are loyal to their customers. And two, they offer their services in English. Buying camera involves a lot of decision making and you would need someone to guide you for making your purchasing decision. That is where Paul Baek comes in. The moment you walk in Hyosung Camera you can ask for Paul. Paul has good knowledge about cameras and will give you sound knowledge to help you chose the right camera for your needs. Also, they offer top notch after sales services. So just in case if your camera turns out faulty they would more than glad to get it serviced for you.

You can reach Paul Baek at 010-2059-0698 and this is their website in Korea if it helps: http://hcamera.co.kr/