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Shopping can be tiring. I for one dislike dealing with all the yapping sales talk. Thats why i do most of my shopping online. I feel this way about shopping in Japan. Little did I know that the shopping culture in Korea would suck all my energy.
I was at the department store in the neighborhood. This area is not touristy and the place was filled with the local shoppers enjoying the summer sales.
I was there to look around, maybe get a dress if i find something i like. I was strolling the womens clothing floor in an array of colorful dresses (some gaudy, to be honest). When i stopped even for a second to take a look at something, the sales staff approached me and started talking. Sure, this happens at Japanese department stores, too, but i find the staff here are more persistent. What i find even more unpleasant is that as i looked at the clothes, they stood right behind me and immediately refolded or rehung everything i had touched. In a rather rough, irritated manner, too. It's not like i had made a mess. I read later that this happens not infrequently, so i should understand they do not mean to be rude, but it definitely requires some getting used to.
What baffled me the most was that I had to share a fitting room with another woman. I wanted to try on a dress. There was only one fitting room and it was occupied. I gestured the sales staff that i wanted to use the fitting room. The woman in the fitting room came out with the pants with a tag on and started checking how she looked in the mirror. I was waiting standing by the fitting room, but the sales staff gestured me to go in! What, but she has her stuff in there, i thought, but the staff kept talking in korean and hung my dress inside. The woman did not seem to think anything of it, either, and kept looking herself in the mirror. I thought what the heck and went in. The woman's pants that she had taken off were on the hook. Too weird. I felt pressured to hurry so she would not have to wait long and quickly changed into the dress. I was not happy with how i looked in the dress, but to check in the better light, got out of the fitting room. Then the woman in the pants went in. My purse and clothes were in there. Just too weird. I looked myself in the bright light of the store. Hidious was the word. I could not wait to get out of the dress, but had to wait for the woman to come out. The sales clerks in the mean time were just watching us from a little far. They did not talk to me or the other woman (who was korean). I would have expected them to pester the customers given how persistent they were with sales talk. I dont get this inconsistency, but im just a foreigner.
Oh, and they only had ONE, USED face cover stained with lipstick and foundation in the fitting room. I had no choice but use it otherwise the dress. would have gotton soiled as it was the kind to be slipped over the head.
When I got out of the fitting room and gave the dress back to the sales staff and thanked her, she said nothing and with another sales person started examining the dress as if to check for stains. That was just too much. I am 120% sure the dress was intact.
I went back to the apartment exhausted. It would have been nice if the dress was nice on me, but even if it was, maybe i didnt want to buy it from them. I realize this is just one experience and I should not generalize that all sales clerks at all department stores are like them, but I cannot help but feel reluctant to try again. I used to like going shopping, you know.