Ask Engadget: What's the best gadgetry South Korea has to offer?

Last week's question about HDTV opinions was a bit loaded, so we're going to take it down a notch for this week's Ask Engadget. Of course, there's always room for controversy next week, so be sure to send in your questions to ask at engadget dawt com. This week's feel-good query comes from Chad:

"As any reader of Engadget knows, the coolest stuff tends to always be stuck in Korea (or somewhere equally far away from Chicago). Luck has it though that I am going on assignment to Seoul in a few weeks and I was wondering... If given the chance to go to the Gadget Holy Land (Korea), what would you pick up? Also, if there are any Koreans reading this, where in / near Seoul should I go to procure these gadgets?"

Chad seems to have an enviable dilemma. With the endless quantity of South Korean gadgetry that's paraded across this site in recent years, anything particularly choice stick out? We're kind of partial to those 7-inch DMB / GPS / PMP units that transform into police bots at night and fight crime in the city streets, but that's just us.

[big boy @ Oct 26th 2007 6:38PM]

first

I would get all sorts of bootleg stuff for cheap
haha

[dave @ Oct 26th 2007 6:46PM]

korea isnt a knockoff kind of place.


first thing i'd get is a CDMA version of the samsung F700.......then a bunch of samsung blu-ray players and HDTVs for the house, one of those new touchscreen yepp players, and look through all the clothes stores to see what's left over from when nike made their shoes in korea.


by the way, im not a samsung fanboy. i swear.

[Mike @ Oct 26th 2007 9:51PM]

@ dave:

actually, from when I was stationed there as a medic, it definently was a knockoff kind of place for software and stuff. Reminded me of my early childhood when I ran around chinatown in NYC :P

Definently grab the coolest samsung stuff you can find, cause...well...samsung is god? no?

[Math Geek @ Oct 26th 2007 11:57PM]

@Mike, actually, here’s what’s happening in China:
1) Japanese and Korean gadget, phone and car makers release sleek, innovative new devices or vehicles domestically in Japan and Korea.
2) Chinese rip-off companies buy one, and return to China where the whole thing is copied.
3) The Chinese companies sell the fake version domestically in China.
4) when the original is finally sold in China, Chinese consumers think the original is a counterfeit of a Chinese original, since the Chinese phone was sold first, and are OUTRAGED at the copyright violation. Counterfeiters cost legit companies about $650 billion per year and growing fast, and the overwhelming majority of it happens in China.

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200701/200701150004.html
http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/24/keepin-it-real-fake-part-xxxvii-china-car-makers-strike-again/
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200611/200611240009.html
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200701/200701160009.htmlI

Also, here’s a video clip on the “rampant chinese piracy” from the Japanese news: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSBMc9Z5od8

Highlights (for those who can’t speak Japanese):
- A copy of a car tail light: the original says KOREA on it, while the Chinese copy says KOBEA. The other major difference between them is that the Chinese-made light is not properly sealed and can fill up with rain water.
- Korean consumers tell reporters that it is very difficult for them to tell if brand bags being sold in shops are the real thing.
- A Chinese company is selling copies of a Korean beer brand. Six months after a South Korean company started selling a new motorbike, a Chinese company suddenly began selling an copy of the vehicle. While the outside appearance is similar, the Chinese-made bike’s engine apparently
breaks down within its first year of use.
- A Korean employee of a major golf goods brand states that he is concerned that Chinese/Taiwanese copies are having a negative influence on the image of his brand.

Hope this helped.

[Math Geek @ Oct 27th 2007 12:52AM]

BTW, in just a few decades, South Korea has transformed from a manufacturing country to a R&D country, many foreign companies have been setting up R&D divisions in Korea.

Check this video out: [Germany | South Korea: Land of Research] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuxOqu0ikFw

[John @ Oct 26th 2007 6:44PM]

anything samsung...

[heh @ Oct 26th 2007 11:40PM]

My impression of Samsung is that they are not innovators or designers, but rather manufacturering copycats. I had a Q1U UMPC and technically it was great, but to actually use it, what a piece of crap. From the distracting blinking lights up front, the glossy slippery case, the awful quality cameras, the dumb split keyboard, the terrible mouse controller.. what a dog. I don't think they put a lot of thought in their products, as if a real person might use one. Maybe they don't have a real industrial design or usability culture. I'm sorry if this is a gross generalization, but I haven't seen it disproven. Feature packed but not well designed.

[Rex @ Oct 27th 2007 9:41AM]

and LG? why not LG? i mean, samsung and LG are like, on the same level, right? like the korean version of sony and toshiba, maybe? correct me if i am wrong

[Justin McGuirk @ Oct 26th 2007 6:45PM]

They the ones with the nukes?

[dave @ Oct 26th 2007 6:46PM]

no, north korea has nukes (and communism), but that would be a fun toy to get my hands on. hahaha

[Yubastard @ Oct 26th 2007 6:56PM]

LOL @ dave

jaja "the gadget": a nuclear weapon

[Jin Kim @ Oct 26th 2007 6:48PM]

You should send me an email. My brother lives in Korea and he can lead you to some great places to get some excellent consumer electronics.

[Cagrino @ Oct 26th 2007 6:49PM]

I would like to see you get as many of the "keep it real fake" series of devices as possible and give them a proper review.

They can't all be bad...

[Cagrino @ Oct 26th 2007 6:51PM]

BTW, I know that most of those originate in China, but it has to be easier to acquire in Korea than in the U.S.

[Math Geek @ Oct 27th 2007 12:40AM]

Not really. Most Koreans are fully aware of how crappy and unsafe the lead-ridden "Made-in-China" products are, and it is a well-known fact that the Korean consumers, along with the Japanese, are the "pickiest" in the world, so I am sure you'll find more "Chinese-made knockoff" crap in the States than in Korea/Japan.

[Dean Jorgensen @ Oct 26th 2007 6:57PM]

You'll want to take a trip to Yongsan Jeon-ja sang-ga (Yongsan Electronics Market). It's the premier place in Korea to pick up anything electronic, but don't forget to bargain if you head on over there. They'll use a calculator to tell you price if you don't speak Korean, if you think it's too much say Na Moo B Sayo (too expensive) and then Ka Ka Chuseyo (please give me a deal) if they can't help you there move on to the next booth as it will inevitably be selling exactly the same thing.

[jdiddy @ Oct 26th 2007 7:05PM]

I lived in Korea most of my life. Dean described Yongsan Electronics market perfectly! It's the place to go!

[daliminator2000 @ Oct 26th 2007 8:54PM]

I agree - it's huge and you can find almost anything you can think of there for a decent price (though sometimes the people working in the stores can be a little stubborn lol).

[Poita @ Oct 26th 2007 11:48PM]

I would recommend saying 'noh (or nuh, depending on your FL accent) moo bi ssa yo' If you say what is in the parent post then you may get a few blank stares (it means 'the tree is expensive' ;). Either way people should get the idea I guess...

[KATUSA @ Oct 27th 2007 11:31AM]

I'm native Korean but Poita is right.
Yongsan is too much expensive and unpleasant(even to me, Korean).
Wicked seller 'usually' overcharge(It is truth that Yongsan price is always much more higher than market conditions) and force customer to purchase products. Also, there was a TV news report about the seller who threaten Korean customer to buy a gadget in Yongsan.
Only 'enjoy' gadgets at Yongsan. but never ever 'buy' gadgets at there.

[Steve @ Oct 29th 2007 9:26AM]

Always do online price research before heading over to B&M store. Here's a Korean version of pricewatch that gives you cheapest prices available.

http://www.enuri.com/

The only thing is you need to know Korean to navigate the site. Find the product of interest, make printout and ask the B&M vendor to match the price. They'll be displeased or even shoo you away, but it pays to be prepared.

[rob paek @ Oct 29th 2007 5:10PM]

you should probably have written it: too expensive - "noh moo bee sah yoh", but the "bee" sounds almost like "pee" you got to understand that a lot of b sounds have a slight p to them, same with g's and k's. "ka ka" should be a sharper k, like "kka kka jooh seh yoh" (yoh sounds like yo with your jaw hanging).

also, a lot of these guys are telling you to go here or there; if you're confused (or if no one has explained it), they're basically sections of Seoul. You have to realize that Seoul is HUGE. You can ride nonstop on one subway line for over an hour. Most of the names that people are saying are the names of subway stops. If I remember correctly they have the names written in English, and you should be able to find SOMEONE that speaks/reads english to figure out where you need to go.

Just say "jun jah" (which means electronics) and then they could probably figure out where you're tryin' to get to if you show them a list of places you want to go. Maybe bringing a picture of those things might help... good luck and have a great time! I haven't been back in 7 years... :-(

[Jung Son @ Oct 26th 2007 6:57PM]

im also going to korea on dec 2 through jan 6. im korean and i can show you around, if you go around the same timeframe. shoot me an email if you need my assistance.

[Crayola @ Oct 26th 2007 7:03PM]

The best would be one WITHOUT a diminutive glassy eyed Asian girl with dandy hands smaller a fork posing all perky, plastic smile...

These Korean has a seriously sexist attitude, we demand REAL women with hairy armpits and unshaven chest!!!

[Mark @ Oct 26th 2007 7:45PM]

You've had too much feminism. I recommend a trip to Sao Paulo or Rio de Janeiro to clear your head.

Most women across the world don't hate men the way American women do. They have places to put man-haters - they're called convents.

[elroyo @ Oct 26th 2007 7:09PM]

the Coex mall would be a great place to check out electronics. if i remember right its in Gangnam-gu in the same comlex the subway is in.
watch out for cabs with the free translation, most of the time it takes 10 mins for them to understand you want to use it.
had the time of my life when i was staioned there for a year. care to send me back some soju and yaki? :)

[wslcrew @ Oct 26th 2007 7:11PM]

Yong-San electronics market has lots of gadgets that would interest you. They tend to focus primarily on computer components and cell phones. Another place that I would recommend is Nam-Dae-Moon Flea market and they have wide selections of cameras(digital and film) and lenses. Both of these places are flea market type place and they tend to have cheaper price due to competetions between stores. If you don't feel like going to a crowded place, I suggest you a
place called Techno Mart which has department store layout. I'm not sure how cheaper their price is (weak dollar makes things expensive) but you will be seeing a plenty of 3G phones with DMBs over there.

Also, check out PC-Bang(Internet cafe) in Korea. It's literally im the every corner of the streets.

[Manuel Aldrete @ Oct 26th 2007 7:22PM]

The Gadget holy land is actually Akihabara in Tokyo Japan. I've been to both Seoul and Tokyo and Seoul did not have as large of a selection nor was it as interesting of a place. If you are looking for a cell phone or anything Samsung related then Korea is the place to be.

[andrew oh @ Oct 26th 2007 7:23PM]

i know if this will help out at all, but there is an electronic district within seoul that sells some cheap electronics. i'd definitely check out the DMB phones. its always fun to see people watch hdtv on the subways.

for shopping go to myeongdong.
if you want to see HOT girls go to apgujeong.
if you want to go clubbing go to gangnam or hongdae
if you want to see a college town with really cheap food go to sinchon.

what i found interesting is that the native Koreans LOVE the ipod. it portrays social class and identity since its so expensive compared to other mp3 players in their domestic market. bring an iphone there and i won't be surprised if they go gaga over it while you are playing with it on the subway. its about time an american electronic company such as Apple are winning people overseas.

[1w @ Oct 27th 2007 8:17AM]

I can't agree with the iPod part; that kind of reaction is something of a decade ago. You will see a lot of people debating over whether iPod is a good device(it is associated with a once-popular issue, but it'll take so much time to explain) or good-designed rubbish in many Korean portal sites. You should also note that iPod lags far behind other DAP manufacturers (samsung, iriver, cowon...) in market shares, too. Japanese Apple has a far higher market share than one in korea does.

[jdog2050 @ Oct 29th 2007 8:05AM]

@1w

I would take an ipod over the poor interface of a Samsung or Korean DAP any day, seriously

[CUBSWILLWIN @ Oct 26th 2007 7:23PM]

All i know is samsung

[Matthew Hilario @ Oct 26th 2007 7:27PM]

the korean gadgetholding girls duh!

[3rdsun @ Oct 26th 2007 7:27PM]

Any Hello Kitty gadget is awesome, just don't let your friends see it or they'll be jealous

[Kool, Could be due for NA @ Oct 26th 2007 7:27PM]

Arthur: talk about racism. Am sorry to have you as a neighbor-I have a few great Japanese friends here at an Ivy League institution who love good talk over great wine and sushi. All of them are extremely intelligent, hard working - mostly bankers btw - and love good Korean food. Wonder what they will say if they see your opinion, really curious. Hey, you have the right to speech-just a sad, sad statement of your idea of a part of the world. Great way to make friends, man, if you have any. To clarify for you all, btw, not many in Korea eat dog meat, and I am one of the majority against that savage ritual.

As for buying electronics in Korea, go for CDMA version of cell phones. I am not too sure, but I bet you can unlock them for use in the US: most all of the phones sold in Korea have English as an option in languages section. Don't bother with TVs and DMB-they don't work here, and TVs are cheaper here. And, personally, I don't recommend Yongsan as some merchants leave a bad name by ripping off customers - even Koreans. I suggest the person look at COEX stores and cell phone merchants at Kang Nam subway station in Seoul-there's a whole bunch of them, ready to deal. Get the most gadgety cell phone you can get - heck, they have the Prada cell phones too, and I wonder why the fancy luxury Europeans such as Prada etc like to brand with 'some of the rudest people on earth'.

Moreover, tell the person to enjoy night life in Korea: it is fun with soju and BBQ meat-beef and pork, btw - and you can eat all the way up until 1-2am in the morning!
Hip place to visit is Myung-dong on the North of Seoul, and places like Kangnam station and Chungdamdong South of Seoul. The expriences are as good as the gadgets. :)

[Scott @ Oct 26th 2007 7:28PM]

I would go to the Youngsan Electronics Market. It is HUGE. I have made many good finds there, but keep in mind that some items may not work in the states, so I usually stick with the USB and networking items.

Scott
PS> Yes, they have bootleg vendors too.

[Javi0084 @ Oct 26th 2007 7:31PM]

Cowon Q5

[Jesse S @ Oct 26th 2007 9:46PM]

And A3, and the Q5W (better specs than the basic Q5).

[Jeremy K. @ Oct 26th 2007 7:33PM]

Cowon/iAudio FTW! A2/A3, D2, 7, 6, x5, Q5, L2, N2...

[Sunny @ Oct 26th 2007 7:34PM]

I am a Korean, who comes to engadget dawt com at least once a day.

Hm, I never thought Korea to be a gadget holy land, but it is good to find out.

Unfortunately, I'm in US right now so I won't be able to have an honor to guide Mr. Representative throughout Korea, but one place I'll suggest is the place called

-Chung Gye Chun

It used to be the place, where people who could make anything - I mean anything from missiles to whatever - were gathered. It's like Akihabara-on-steroids, but b/c of the projects and stuff a lot of old day's glory must be gone, but you still will be able to find some interesting gadget. If you are lucky(or unlucky) even nuclear bomb! as someone mentions down there. (You know this one is a joke right?)

-Some would say Techno Mart or Yong San

Those are quite fancy places with shit load of gadget jingled up in one place. Imagine gadget Camden Market. You would probably be able to find some original/bootlagged Korean gadgets there. But be prepared, those two places are freaking HELL. Those ppl will pretty much do anything to sell there stuff.

It's little bit exadurated here and there, but it's better to be more careful when you go somewhere exotic like that, right?

Anyway, good luck on your trip

And Korea is not only the gadget holy land but also the land full of other fun interesting stuff

[arthur @ Oct 26th 2007 7:34PM]

being both korean and japanese, and a frequent visitor to both countries, i have to say that all south korea is is a "keepin it real fake" version of japan (with a lot of fake girls with a lot of fake parts). Gadgets there are cool, but it's not worth having to walk through a developing nation with smelly/dirty streets, terrible food (dog meat...need i say more?) and dealing with some of the rudest people on earth in the name of technology. Given the current exchange rate...you'd probably pick up something nicer in japan for less than you would in south korea.

[daliminator2000 @ Oct 26th 2007 8:54PM]

You don't sound Korean at all. In fact, I'd say you sound like one of them Japanese propagandists who rewrite textbooks and go to shrines for war criminals.

[KMan @ Oct 26th 2007 9:46PM]

Arthur, stop acting like you're korean. We all know your a japanese that's still living in the past & can't stand that Korean culture (hallyu) is being popular in Japan. Not to mention that all the japanese women are dating & marrying korean men in droves - see article http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/30/AR2006083002985.html

[KMan @ Oct 26th 2007 9:44PM]

As for Korea being dirty & smelly, I've lived in New York, Atlanta, and briefly in Seoul and it's no more dirtier than most American cities. Here's some pictures of Korea for you to look through
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=464152
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=484374
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=14416266

[Math Geek @ Oct 26th 2007 11:52PM]

I'm thinking this arthur must be a "Chinese" poster posing as a Japanese/Korean for the purpose of inciting anti-Japanese/Korean sentiment and diverting attention away from the ongoing rampant Chinese piracy crisis, which costs legit companies around the world more than $650 billion annually.

Pathetic Chinese.

[TinyTeddies @ Oct 27th 2007 12:12AM]

HAHAHHA rofl.

"smelly/dirty streets, terrible food (dog meat...need i say more?) and dealing with some of the rudest people on earth in the name of technology. Given the current exchange rate...you'd probably pick up something nicer in japan for less than you would in south korea."

Dog meat? Very ironical seeing that Japan is in a strange love affair with whales. The dogs that are eaten by *some* are not domesticated. Korean food is healthy while tasty. It aint greasy and bland like some other foods across the pond.

Rude? Who wouldn't be to a person like yourself? I've been to Korea for three months and they are one of the nicest people on earth if you treat them with respect. As for the "dirty" streets- I think you're confusing modern, developed Korea with 1970s Korea. Sure they may garbage in some alleyways, but could you name one city that doesn't? ;)

I would recommend going to Yongsan Technomart- it's stories of techhy stuff and trust me, if you haggle, you can get great stuff for a very good price. COEX Mall is great too, but expensive. Technomart ftw.

[Sunny @ Oct 26th 2007 7:40PM]

Being an Korean-Japanese-and-heck-a-lot-of-other-ethnic, I feel really awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwed by Arthur. I'm just surprised to hear someone say something very-behind-the-era-that-it-even-sounds-cute like that that would have been said about 20 years ago. Ppl back then were very ignorant about cultural differences among Asian countries, so they would have overlooked it. However, it's different nowadays dude. If you really are Japanese-Korean or whatever you prefer to be called you should have an ability to embrace both or more of your heritage. It's totally up to you to like one of your heritage over the other, but that does not mean that you can BS about the other.

I am damn proud to be Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Irish, English, Dutch, French, and Swedish.

[Jamar0303 @ Oct 26th 2007 10:30PM]

So each of your grandparents is a different ethnicity?

[lovemesoul @ Oct 26th 2007 8:02PM]

go to Yong San... it's like electronics heaven
it's about 7 floors of goodies

[BigD @ Oct 27th 2007 4:07AM]

You obviously are wet behind the ears when it comes to Yongsan...It is so much more than seven floors...you are only talking about "Space 9"....have you ever visited the Terminal Building(not the subway station), or the Picasso Building, Jeon-Ja Land, Soen-In Plaza? Yongsan is much more than the shiny new "Space 9" building...trust in that.