Cheap Cute in Korea at Daiso 다이소

Large 4 floor Daiso in Hongdae! Stores range in size here from 1-4 floors usually.

If you live in Korea you already know very well what Daiso is, and most likely the nearest 5 stores to your home!  For those of you moving to Korea or planning on visiting Korea let me just give you a brief introduction to the giant chain that is Daiso 다이소!

Basically Daiso is like a Dollar Store, Dollar Tree, or whatever they call them now~ you know what I mean!  It sells cheap items from around 1,000-5,000 for your home, bathroom, crafts, pets, toiletries, snacks, etc~ basically lots of misc junk you kind sorta need…. or think you need when you actually see it!

Daiso’s mission statement is “Items that make a house a home” so if you need little this and that’s to cute up your place, this is a nice and super cheap solution!!

Daiso is originally a Japanese chain founded in 1977 with its HQ in Higashi, Hiroshima City – Japan.  Currently it operates over 3000 stores across the world and apparently every month about 20 new stores are opening.  Here in Korea this chain is thriving and is a staple in the community, Seoul alone has over 177 locations and counting!  you can find one almost in every neighborhood if not two~  in my area I walk past 3 on the way to the metro station.

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Compared to the Japanese Daiso the Korean stores have a bit less stuff overall and many items are made just for the Korean market here or repackaged~ in fact, most Koreans do not even realize this is actually a Japanese chain… I think they may try and downplay that fact here as much as possible.  Regardless,  you can still find lots of cute goodies~ It is a hunting game, so just keep your eyes open!

Lots of great beauty basics can be bought at Daiso for reasonable prices~ they carry lots of things like nail clippers, grooming scissors, mini razors, tweezers, nail polish, buffers, remover, etc.

These are often just as good (if not exactly the same) as the ones you can buy at drugstores here for double the price.

They also sometimes carry a range of cleansers, shampoo, soaps, face masks, nose pore strips, hair dye, creams, and such.  I find the soaps and creams to be a bit too cheap for my taste, however the nose pore strips are pretty good for the cost (especially the black charcoal ones)  and for face masks they have recently partnered up with Leaders Clinic to bring a line of cheaper 1,000 masks which are great to try!

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I love Leaders Clinic masks here (they are my favorite) and they normally range from 2,000-4,000 per mask in Korea at drugstores~ so I was excited to find some simple ones by them at Daiso now!  The other Daiso brand masks are fairly basic and make good gifts.

Lots of cheap lashes! These range from 1,000-3,000 a pack usually.

I really like a lot of the nail polish here, for 1,000 won the quality is not too bad and great for layering~ you can see some of my nails painted with Daiso polish HERE.  The eyelashes are hit or miss, some are really stiff and cheap and others are soft and a nice find for the money.  Since I rarely wear lashes I can not tell you which ones to buy at this time though, maybe down the line I can review the choices here if enough people are interested ♥

Tons of pretty mirrors for your purse! They also sell larger ones you can use at home for makeup

often close by to the beauty section they will have a wall of clothing basics like stockings, socks, underpants, etc~  today we also found these fun animal hats for winter haha!  If you are in a pinch you can buy stocking or socks here, but I actually to not recommend it because you can find stocking in bulk packs and socks from street vendors or shops around the city~ they pretty much sell JUST socks in a cart or truck and are hard to miss!  1,000 is the cheapest you can buy cute socks here for though, so sometimes I do grab a single pair in here if I see something cute.

If you need basic office supplies like notebooks, glue, clips, tacks, dividers, folders, etc most Daiso shops will have a great aisle for that.

Cute mini clips for my papers or whatever!

Daiso also carries a small amount of toys which are always so cheap that they are amusing! In fact, I have a post dedicated to cheap Korean toys (mainly from Daiso) HERE on my blog ♥

Lots of basic craft supplies for kids~ clay, paints, and fun kits!

The iconic plastic piggy bank here in Korea~ you see these little guys everyplace.

In most shops you can also find some of the basics for wrapping pretty gifts, some wrapping paper, tissue paper, deco tape (extremely useful!!), and gift bags.

If yo need cheap boxes for gifts or treats you can find lots of choices with pretty designs!

Here is a Daiso  box I bought to use for my homemade Valentines Day chocolates this year <3

Daiso has much cheaper options vs the stationary stores, these boxes make great mini storage for your shelves as well.

SNACKS!!!

Depending on the size of the Daiso, you can usually find a nice cheap aisle of snacks!! They carry lots of the Korean basics, but sometimes I find a few imported things like Trolli gummie candy or goldfish crackers in here as well.

If you have a small apartment~ these wood racks are the best thing EVER!  I have one for my necklaces, one in my doorway for hats or bags, and one by my closet for coats or things I am too lazy to properly hang up in my closet at the time.

Now that I am an adult, I have learned that I can always use a basket for something….eh useful. lol

They also have a nice selection of cheap, but still very useful frames.  They may not seem like much at the store….

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but on the wall they look quite nice!!

some really adorable pastel cases I grabbed for my desk! Milk loves them too haha

These dividers are so useful~ I use the pastel ones to hold my watches or bracelets!

My Daiso vase for 2,000 won, flowers for 1,000 won, and big wall clock for around 5,000 won!!

Pretty flower decorations for your door~ these are cute and tacky-tastic at the same time.

I actually have a few vases of fake flowers in my house from here… haha I kinda like them because they are so colorful ^^

If you have real plants you can get some gardening supplies at Daiso as well~ Like these cute watering cans!  They also sometimes sell real plants, seeds, and flower pots if you want to attempt growing anything.

Baskets for everything and anything~

home department with baskets, shelves, pretty storage boxes, and other handy things.

Toothbrush holders featuring the characters from the famous Korean drama Dae Jang Geum | 대장금

Bunny and Kitty soap dishes!

rainbow of pretty face towels~

Larger Daiso shops love to display goodies in a big rainbow~ we are such suckers for displays, we LOVE this and are always drawn to the wall like a moth to the flame to take photos in front of it hahaha.

If you need ceramic plates, bowls, cups, mugs, or serving platters Daiso often has several designs to pick from. Because Koreans love coffee and tea they have a lot more cute mug choices though, so if you need some for your house this is a good place to stock up! The larger the Daiso, the better selection of ceramic they carry~ smaller ones may only have 2-3 designs while bigger Daisos like this one will have a whole wall to pick from.

They also carry plenty of plastic plates with really cute designs.  I use these a lot and they are a bit easier to manage and look really cute with snacks when you have company over.  I also use another one on my vanity to hold some of my daily makeup.

some handy bowls, plate, and forks I picked up last visit for snacks!

Mini ice cubes are cute, right??

Really useful heart section plate and silicone baking cups with little cars on the edges~ both from Daiso!

new strawberry bowl to add to my Daiso strawberry collection~ Baby Milk wasted no time in making it his tiny new house.

If you love to make cute boxed lunches or treats, Daiso has lots of cheap and useful things for you!

Japanese items are in Korean Daisos from time to time, those products are always extra handy and cute!!  I found this cute heart sandwich pocket press and heart + flower rice mold!

Super cute rice scoops! This is mine ^^ They also sell heart-shaped ones in pink!

Cute things to make treats~ or cute things that look like treats!

Lots of basics AND cute basics for cooking and baking!

Cute kitchen gear! Daiso always seems to have what I need in pink ^^

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Because I am not living in Korea forever when I moved into my own apartment here I had a lot of things to buy to make me feel a bit more at home and make my space a bit cuter~  I think it is important to have a happy home or personal space here, even if you do not plan to stay. Daiso has been really great in helping me put together a “proper” home vs a make-shift one~ even if the things are cheap, everything is still very useful and they have a great selection of cheerful colors that brighten up my home.

Daiso locations in Korea

Small Daiso inside a train station

Because Daiso is a huge chain, It would take me a really long time to list of locations you should go to.  If you are coming here on vacation almost all the major tourist hot spots will have a large Daiso, and if you are moving here to live or study you will most likely run into one within days… I walk by 3 on my way to the closest metro station haha.

They vary in size and appearance, but the red signs should be hard to miss and often it will say “DAISO” on the sign or within the logo if you cannot read Korean.  Often they are located very close to metro stations and larger bus stops.

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If you can read Korean, you can find the Daiso 다이소 in Korea closest to you HERE and simply plug the address into Naver mapsor hand it to the taxi driver.

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Daiso is also in America!  If you live in California they actually have a few very good ones that carry lots of things mainly from the Japanese stores!! To see if you have a Daiso in your country you can check the listing on the official site HERE

Have you ever been to a Daiso? If so, where did you go?  What are some of the best things you have found at a Daiso before? Share your experiences below with other readers!!