Why I Bought Glasses in Korea and How You Can Too

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First, let's learn some Korean vocabulary

Glasses ~ 안경

(ahn - gyeong)

Lenses ~ 렌즈

(len - jeu)

Frames ~ 안경테

(ahn - gyeong - tae)

How much? ~ 얼마예요?

(ol - ma - yeh - yo)

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Many of you would probably agree that glasses should be free.

Sadly, the pharmaceutical industry begs to differ. These industries will happily charge hundreds of dollars for a regular pair of glasses.

The last time I was home, I was set on getting a new pair of frames, so my mom made me an appointment with her eye doctor.

Yes, I'll happily still accept my mom making my appointments and yes, I am 25.

I got my eyes checked out and it was a great experience, overall. That is until it came time to pick out a pair of frames.

Thankfully, I have one year left on my parent's health insurance. But even BCBS couldn't save my wallet... and my pride.

The clerk informed me that there was only one free frame available under our insurance. That's right, ONE. And though the tiny wire-frames were free, the lenses would still be $50.

So I began browsing other frames, hoping I could find a more reasonable option. I felt comfortable spending between $50-$100, despite hearing about cheaper online options. I mean, if I ordered here and now, I could beg that they be made quickly and hopefully pick up the glasses before leaving for Korea.

However, it seemed that every frame I pulled was priced higher than the last. $250.00 just for plastic frames and $50-$100 for the most basic lenses. Or $50 for a flimsy pair of grandpa glasses (no offense to grandpa). This was getting ridiculous.

I think the clerk saw my disillusionment at the cost because he chuckled saying something along the lines of, "What - did you expect to walk out of here with a nice pair of glasses for $100?"

"Umm... Yea."

Rather than shelling out hundreds of dollars for glasses that I wasn't in love with, I came back to Korea hopeful and ready to try out Ji's favorite store near Chonnam National University in Gwangju.

Looking through the options, I was unsure if I would find something affordable and that also fit my style. Should I have done Warby Parker while I was home? Does my insurance here even cover glasses?

I was absolutely FLOORED to learn that frames alone were only 20,000 Korean Won ($17 USD). They have different kinds of lenses starting at 15,000 KRW ($13) for the most basic coating and only 30,000 KRW ($26) for a "Platinum Coating."

I went platinum and paid a grand total of 50,000 KRW! That comes out to exactly 43 US Dollars.

Bonus~ they make the glasses IN HOUSE, on-the-spot! Which means I walked out with my new glasses in less than 15 minutes.

You don't need to make an appointment. Simply walk in and browse frames while you wait to get your eyes checked. You can also skip the eye check by emailing your provider back home for your prescription and bringing in a copy like I did.

If you do go to this location, the staff are super helpful and understand some English. Otherwise, don't be afraid to go into any optometrist/안경 store in your town! I'm sure they will try their best to help you and I promise it will be cheaper than any American establishment~

Location: 레몬트리 안경엔콘택트

광주 북구 우치로 70, 61207

Lemon Tree Glasses & Contacts

70 Uchi Rd. Buk-gu Gwangju

Tel: 062.522.5555