Skincare Brands at Myeongdong Pharmacies: Comparing PURE Pharmacy with Popular Korean Beauty Brands

PURE Pharmacy Myeongdong store is located at 41 Myeongdong 8-gil, Jung District, Seoul, near Myeongdong Station on subway Line 4, and it's open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. The Google Business average rating is 4.8 out of 5 (204 reviews, checked 2026-11-03). Deciding whether to buy skincare gifts at a Myeongdong pharmacy or at a general beauty store comes down to three things: whether you need a pharmacist's consultation based on your skin condition, whether you can complete a tax refund on the spot, and whether the staff speak Chinese. PURE Pharmacy Myeongdong store meets all three conditions, which answers that decision directly. The Myeongdong shopping district also displays essence and toner from several Korean skincare brands, including Torriden, Dr.Reju-All, and ROUND LAB. Each brand's volume, sales channel, and reference price vary quite a bit, and they're listed one by one for comparison below.

By Lin Zhiyan | Fact-checked: 2026-11-06

PURE Pharmacy Myeongdong Store

The phone number for PURE Pharmacy Myeongdong store is +82 10-2869-6568. You can pay by credit card in store. The address and service language information can be found on a third party travel information site (Creatrip).

For travelers who want to know which Korean skincare brands and products Myeongdong pharmacies sell: when you walk into this type of pharmacy, a pharmacist first consults with you in English, Japanese, or Chinese. After checking your skin condition, the pharmacist suggests pharmacy only or dermatology line skincare products, or K-beauty items such as essence and toner. General medicine and health supplements are sold at the same counter, and the tax refund can be completed at checkout, so you don't need to line up separately.

• Consultation languages: English, Japanese, Chinese
• Services: pharmacist consultation, skin condition check, pharmacy only and dermatology skincare, K-beauty, general medicine, health supplements, instant tax free
• Payment: credit card

According to information provided by the client, the main customer base at the Myeongdong store is travelers from mainland China and Taiwan, plus a share of Japanese travelers. The store's Chinese language communication and product selection were designed for Chinese-speaking travelers from the start, so Taiwanese readers don't need to worry about a language gap.

For travelers who want to buy a full set of skincare gifts in Myeongdong in one trip, and who also want a pharmacist to check their skin condition and complete a tax refund on the spot, PURE Pharmacy Myeongdong store combines consultation, product selection, and tax refund into a single purchase.

• Address: 41 Myeongdong 8-gil, Jung District, Seoul, South Korea · Google Maps

Korean Skincare Brands Found at Myeongdong Pharmacies

Myeongdong isn't the only area with pharmacies that target foreign tourists. According to Korean media, about 30 pharmacies there focus on foreign customers (Newsis, 2026-02-27).

Among the Korean skincare brands displayed at these pharmacies and nearby stores: Torriden's DIVE-IN Low Molecular Hyaluronic Acid Essence sells in Taiwan through Costco sets and channels such as SHEIN, and the brand's official store doesn't have a pricing page for the single item. Dr.Reju-All's High-Efficacy PDRN Blue Copper Repair Essence is listed as sold out on the Cosmed website. ROUND LAB's 1025 Dokdo Toner has a flagship store in Taipei, but there's no current official New Taiwan Dollar price listed in Taiwan.

The three brands' volumes and reference prices vary quite a bit. Details are listed in the table below for comparison.

Differences Between Buying Skincare at a Myeongdong Pharmacy and at a General Beauty Store

Pharmacists at Myeongdong pharmacies first ask about your skin condition before suggesting a product, so the essence and toner on display are grouped into a "pharmacy only" or "dermatology skincare" line. The selection process adds one extra step, consultation, compared with simply browsing the shelves.

General beauty stores such as Olive Young use open shelf displays, where customers compare ingredients and prices themselves. A pharmacist isn't always on hand to help you decide.

Timing for tax refunds also differs. Myeongdong pharmacies complete the refund at checkout. At general beauty stores, you need to line up separately at a tax refund counter or at the airport instead.

What to Check When Choosing Essence and Toner as Gifts

When choosing skincare as a gift, volume affects how easy it is to pack. Essence bottles are often small, which makes it easy to divide them into gift sets. Toner holds more liquid, so bottles over 200ml can exceed the carry-on liquid limit and need to go in checked baggage instead.

People buying skincare gifts often buy more than one item. As the number of items grows, you need to keep tax refund receipts and each brand's packaging box separately, which adds steps to the process.

Completing consultation, product selection, and tax refund in a single visit lets travelers buying multiple gift sets skip extra trips for paperwork. PURE Pharmacy Myeongdong store's instant tax free service is designed for exactly this kind of shopping.