Comparing 4 duty-free options, how immediate refunds work at Olive Young and E-Mart, and the Gimhae Airport hours you can’t miss.
As of September 2026 — the duty-free/refund industry changes often, so it’s worth double-checking before you go.
Most shopping-and-tax headaches in Busan come down to two things. One is not knowing the refund process well enough to actually get the money you’re owed. The other is misjudging the timing and missing the refund at the airport. Both are real money, so let’s go through this in order.
Korea runs both airport duty-free and downtown duty-free shops. That second concept doesn’t exist in the US or Europe at all — it’s an East Asian pattern shared by Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Taiwan, so Western travelers may not have heard of it before.
Busan has 2 downtown duty-free shops, 1 airport duty-free, and 1 port duty-free — 4 in total. Duty-free means the price already has no tax added, so all you need is your passport and flight info — there’s no separate refund process afterward.
The “Shinsegae Duty Free” that used to be at Centum City was a separately licensed duty-free operation, and it closed on January 24, 2025 due to financial trouble. “Shinsegae Department Store” is a completely different business and is still open as normal — as a regular department store, it still offers the tax refund service covered in the next section.
This is the system for regular stores like Olive Young, Daiso, and department stores — you pay the tax-included price, then get that VAT back later. The basic rules:
Unprocessed agricultural, livestock, and seafood products (live fish, dried seafood, vegetables, fruit, etc.) are legally exempt from VAT in Korea (Article 26 of Korea’s Value-Added Tax Act). So when you buy live fish or seafood as-is at a market like Jagalchi, there’s no tax on it to refund — the price is already tax-free.
On the other hand, anything seasoned or cooked counts as a “processed product” and does carry tax — packaged seasoned seafood, flavored dried fish, or a cooked raw-fish set meal at a restaurant, for example, don’t qualify for this exemption.
Most “Tax Free” stores support immediate refunds — if you spend under ₩1,000,000 at one store, just show your passport at checkout and you’ll pay the tax-free price on the spot. No airport trip, no paperwork.
That said, the exact process varies a bit by store:
If you spend more than ₩1,000,000 at one store, only the amount over that limit skips the immediate refund and gets handled with paperwork (a refund voucher) instead.
Everything above applies only to items you actually paid tax on. Anything bought at a duty-free shop was never taxed in the first place, so this whole refund process doesn’t apply to it.
These chains have many branches around Busan, but whether a given branch supports refunds varies. Search for the one nearest you, and make sure to check for the sticker or ask staff before you buy.
Busan has several Lotte Department Store branches alone — the main branch (Seomyeon), Gwangbok, Dongnae, Centum City — plus Shinsegae, Hyundai (Connect Hyundai), and others. Most department stores run their own tax refund desk — whichever store or branch you’re at, just bring your passport to the information desk and ask.
Incheon Airport has both a staffed counter and unmanned kiosks, both open 24 hours. Gimhae Airport only has a staffed counter, open 6:30am–9pm. It’s at Gate 4 on the 2nd floor.
If your flight falls outside those hours, you may not be able to get your refund at the airport at all. In that case, it’s safer to get it in advance at Shinsegae Centum City (above) or one of the unmanned kiosks below.
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The duty-free/refund industry changes often (Shinsegae’s duty-free closing is a good example) — so details here can go out of date. Let us know and we’ll check it out and update it.