I’ve just bought a new pair of glasses, just because I was always bored with the pair that I had.

To my delight, buying glasses in Korea was not only really cheap, but really easy.

Traditionally, in Canada, I’d have to first go to the eye doctor first to get my prescription.  Recent legislation has made it so this service is no longer free.  $120 for a piece of paper which you bring to your favourite eyeglass retailer.

For anything decent looking in the plastic frame department, you have to spend anywhere from 200 to 400 dollars on some designer name brand pair.  My frames cost me 30 000 Won = $30, including lenses.

They also did my eye exam right in the store.  It took like 2 minutes, and he says my eyes have barely changed, except my right eye is a bit different.

What’s with Lenscrafter’s One-hour guarantee?  It took them 5 minutes to make my glasses.  The whole process really took me about 7 minutes, and another 10 minutes for the time taken to try on the glasses.

So if you’re passing through, go ahead and get an extra pair of glasses on your way through.

February 20th, 2006 | Life, Life in Korea