So AJP stepped into the K-beauty world of Olive Young as a pretend first-timer, armed with a smartphone, the Papago translation app and no particular expertise in cosmetics.
The first Korean label refused to cooperate. The second translated in seconds.
The difference wasn’t my Korean, which I was pretending not to know. It was my photography.
That small discovery set the tone for a two-hour visit to Olive Young N Seongsu, South Korea’s largest Olive Young store. The mission: find out how far a foreign visitor could get with a phone, a translation app and a willingness to wander.
First, though, I had to work out where everything was.
Stop 1: Seongsu is always in season
The weather may turn cold, but Seongsu rarely cools down.
In this fashionable eastern Seoul neighborhood, tourists weave between cafes, shops and photo spots, with plenty of traffic on both the roads and the pavements.
A minute or two from Exit 4 of Seongsu Station stands Olive Young N Seongsu, occupying a substantial slice of this busy shopping district.
On Tuesday, a long queue had formed near an NCT DREAM pop-up. Fans emerging from the event carefully sorted merchandise and photo cards, while beauty shoppers rested nearby with bags at their feet.
K-pop on one side, K-beauty on the other. An efficient arrangement for anyone hoping to fit both into one afternoon.
Stop 2: A warm welcome for reluctant shoppers
The entrance felt more like a lounge than a cosmetics shop.
Opened in November 2024, Olive Young N Seongsu occupies about 4,628 square meters across a five-story building. Shopping and experience spaces fill the first three floors, with a members’ lounge on the fourth.
High ceilings and broad windows kept the ground floor bright and open. There was a cafe, souvenir stamps to collect, a place to leave little handwritten messages and, crucially, seating.
Even with customers coming and going, the space did not feel particularly noisy.
Several men sat quietly while their companions shopped. Some looked quite settled.
Whoever planned this floor had clearly spared a thought for the person who hears “just one thing” before a lengthy beauty-shopping expedition.
Coffee, a comfortable chair and no obligation to develop an opinion on lipstick shades. A thoughtful provision.
Tip: Agree on a meeting spot before splitting up. The first-floor seating is useful when one person’s quick browse becomes another person’s afternoon.
Stop 3: Your perfect color may require an early start
Upstairs, the pace picked up.
Foundations, lipsticks and blushes filled the second floor, where shoppers compared shades and tried products at colorful displays.
To the right was a makeup experience zone offering lighter sessions and more complete looks. Try a look, then shop for the products to recreate it: the route from curiosity to checkout was easy to follow.
A personal color analysis booth caught my eye. These consultations help identify shades that suit a person’s complexion, information that can guide choices in makeup and clothing.
I was curious. So, apparently, was everyone else.
Registration had already closed for the day.
The touchscreen showed that sign-ups had opened at 10 a.m. A customer who registered at 10:04 a.m. still had an estimated 150-minute wait when I checked.
Four minutes after opening, and already a substantial commitment.
My ideal color palette would have to remain a mystery. At least Papago did not require a reservation.
Tip: If a color consultation or makeup session is the main attraction, check registration arrangements early. On this visit, turning up and hoping for the best did not work.
Stop 4: Before blaming the app, check the photograph
I opened Papago and approached the skincare shelves.
First up was Real Barrier Ceramide Moisture Cleansing Foam, a facial cleanser marketed as removing impurities while helping skin retain moisture.
I turned it around, photographed the Korean description with Papago’s camera translation feature and waited.
The result was not especially enlightening.
The photograph was blurry and taken at an awkward angle. My attempt to overcome the language barrier had run into a more basic problem: camera skills.
For the second attempt, I picked up ROUND A’ROUND Green Tea pH-Balanced Cleansing Foam, a cleanser formulated with green tea.
This time, I held the phone steady and made sure the text was clearly in view.
Within seconds, the Korean description appeared in readable English.
Two different packages hardly made for a scientific test, but the practical lesson was useful: give the app a clear label to work with.
For a visitor trying to distinguish one cleansing foam from the next, being able to read what each product claims to do is a considerable help.
Readable English is not a guarantee that every technical term has been translated perfectly. Still, it was enough to make the shelves feel much less impenetrable.
Tip: Photograph labels straight on, keep the phone steady and check that the lettering is sharp. If the translation looks odd, try another photograph.
Stop 5: A beauty ranking, with one important distinction
Papago also offered a starting point for shoppers who had arrived without a list.
In the app’s Things section, a Beauty ranking highlighted products attracting international users’ attention through image translation activity.
This was not an Olive Young sales chart. It showed what people were looking up — useful inspiration, with a different meaning from “bestseller.”
The first five products on my screen covered a fair amount of beauty territory:
• MEDIHEAL Madecassoside Essential Mask: a sheet mask marketed for soothing irritation-prone skin.
• BRINGGREEN Bamboo Hyalu Lip Essence: a moisturizing lip treatment.
• UNOVE Deep Damage Treatment: a hair-care treatment intended for damaged hair.
• BIOHEAL BOH Probioderm 3D Lifting Cream: a moisturizer marketed for improving the appearance of firmness.
• Beplain Mung Bean Low pH Cleansing Foam: a mildly acidic facial cleanser.
Face, lips, hair: the list offered several possible shopping missions.
It did not, however, tell me where to find everything.
Around me, customers compared cleansers and added masks and creams to their baskets. I spent rather longer inspecting shelves before asking an employee for help.
That worked.
Papago could explain the label. Someone who knew the store could find the product.
Tip: Use the ranking as a browsing aid, then show staff the product name or image if you get stuck. A translated description is useful; the correct shelf is better.
Stop 6: Come for the K-pop, stay for the face masks
A TWS promotional area brought another dose of K-pop to the second floor. Nearby, a men’s skincare section was noticeably quieter.
Elsewhere, shoppers moved between lip balms, makeup, cleansers, sheet masks, hand creams and snacks.
Roughly 15 groups were waiting at checkout, with about four counters operating. Staff kept working and the queue moved steadily.
Among the shoppers was Jingzhi Shao, a 21-year-old visitor from Beijing whose route to the store had begun with music.
She first learned about Olive Young N Seongsu through Instagram. On Sunday, Nov. 8, she came to the neighborhood for an NCT DREAM pop-up and noticed the beauty store nearby.
"I am a big fan of NCT DREAM," she said.
Once inside, she found reasons to return.
"There are just so many good and cute items here," Shao said.
She was particularly keen on collaboration merchandise that could be difficult to obtain elsewhere. On an earlier visit, she had bought items from the Music & Worlds 26 collection associated with a pop-up at the Olive Young site.
Skincare provided another incentive. Shao said face masks of comparable quality were difficult to find at such affordable prices in Beijing.
K-pop had brought her to Seongsu. K-beauty was helping keep her there.
Stop 7: Follow your nose, then find a chair
On the third floor, my progress slowed considerably.
I may not have had strong feelings about cleansing foam, but fragrance was another matter.
I browsed scents and used Papago to read Korean descriptions and ingredient information. Each photograph required a little care, and each fragrance deserved a little consideration. This was becoming a leisurely assignment.
The store made lingering easy, with displays to explore and places to pause.
A staircase near a corner led to the fourth-floor Olive Members Lounge, where a desk checked membership eligibility.
This was not another public cafe. Access was for qualifying members, with drinks and desserts offered through membership benefits. The menu has included coffee, tea, tarts, pound cakes and tiramisu, although selections can vary.
For everyone else, the first-floor cafe and seating remained available.
By this point, I had developed a much deeper appreciation of the chairs.
Tip: Do not count on the upstairs lounge as a public rest stop. Check eligibility before making plans around the coffee and cake.
Stop 8: Two hours, zero purchases
By the time I finished, roughly two hours had passed.
I had browsed skincare and makeup, investigated Papago’s beauty ranking, missed my chance at a color consultation and spent longer than intended among the fragrances.
I had bought nothing.
Not a sheet mask, not a cleansing foam, not even an emergency lip balm.
For someone with only a passing interest in cosmetics, spending two hours in a beauty store without getting bored was an achievement in itself.
The appeal extended beyond the shelves: space to wander, products to try, pop culture to browse and somewhere to sit when enthusiasm outlasted stamina.
Papago largely passed its part of the test. Clear photographs produced readable descriptions, and the ranking supplied ideas when I had none. Finding a specific product still sometimes required a member of staff.
This was a test of the shopping experience, rather than the skincare. I left better informed about what was on offer, with no evidence yet of a brighter complexion.
For anyone accompanying a committed beauty shopper, there are two perfectly respectable approaches: settle down with a coffee or follow them around three floors and count it toward the day’s exercise.
I chose the latter.
My wallet was pleased. My feet were less enthusiastic.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.