The Most informative Visual Guide to Buying Electronics at inCheon Airport
( if you’re in a hurry : enlarge the last map on this Page )
– partially updated 2015.4.12 –

 

[ PRICE AND AVAILABILITY OF ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS AT THE AIRPORT ]

  • Duty-Free Shops do NOT sell telecommunication products requiring cell phone carrier subscription, thus no iPhone nor iPad 3G or LTE versions but do sell iPod Touch and iPad Wi-Fi versions (Appended December 2015 : Shilla DFS now sell ALL variations of iPhone 6S on their On-Line mall, to be picked-up at major airports but tend to run out-of-stock fairly quickly still re-stocked regularly)
  • in South Korea : electronics are still cheaper at larger On-Line discount stores,
    (but On-Line purchase requires Citizen or Alien Registration Number, while payment can be local/foreign credit cards or bank transfer)
  • newest models like digital cameras – especially Sony and Panasonic – are introduced at Duty Free Shops (usually a Month) earlier than Official imports, OK the order goes like this :
    1. Japanese domestic models are out first, with noteable difference in that menus are usually limited to Japanese alone
    2. international models are release about a Month there-after – at times with a slight change in model number (very very confusing for the international jet-set) – and sold at Export corners of larger electronics discount outlets like Yodobashi Camera, Big Camera, Sakuraya and Sof Map
    3. Official Korean imports commence anytime a deal is struck between the importer and Japanese manufacturer, where sometimes a model is omitted all together -_-
  • but if you plan to stay in South Korea longer than a Season : better opt for Official imports to be safer on product support issues in case of repair,

 

( For Your Reference) November 2013 at Lotte Duty Free inside inCheon Airport
versus On-Line shopping malls which have the lowest price, which as below is sometimes cheaper than Duty-Free :

  • Sony HX30V compact camera display model $350 vs.local W400,000
  • Sony HX50V compact camera $500 vs.local W415,000
  • Nikon 7100 DSLR camera with 35mm F1.8 lens $1500 vs.local W1,250,000
  • iPad Mini 32GB $518 vs.Official On-Line Apple Store Korea W500,000
  • iPad Mini Cellular $700 vs.Official On-Line Apple Store Korea W770,000

 

[ APPLE PRODUCTS AT THE AIRPORT ] main pointers :

  • there is NO Official Apple Store in all of the Korean Peninsula, except an On-Line Store,
    with a handful of Premium ReSellers and Shops spreading branches by the Season in metropolitan areas
    and the best counterpart in inCheon Airport are designated booths in 3 Duty Free Shop’s electronics areas as shown below,
  • the next-best alternative is my Airport Apple Stores Page
    linking ReSellers and Shops NEAR airports or relatively easy-access-to throughout South Korea,
  • best bargain in the World on early iPads are at Korean Duty-Free Shops :
    1. for they regularly give out W50,000 discount coupons, at their website or look them even at Airport Express Train seats !
    2. on top of that most Platinum Credit Cards get another W10,000 off,
    3. but note South Korea is among latter countries Apple commence distributing new models,
    4. after a Month to 3 Months after initial release, local On-Line shopping malls would have better price though -_-

 

[ LOCATION MAP ] updated December 2013 :
few points to remember as even inCheon Airport is much conjested after leaving its place from Gimpo, much closer to Seoul as the mostly domestic but semi-international Airport to serve the Capital :

  • know that among a total of 3 larger electronics sections in Duty Free Area when departing : 2 is in the Main Departure Lounge – on opposite directions – while another is further at the Concourse, accessible by underground tram – making this a LARGE triangle and no-way you can take a good look at ALL 3 with your usual 1~2 hours before the plane takes-off .
  • if you are serious about shopping within these areas, go-in early as inCheon Airport is among the largest in the whole wide World, taking much legwork to roam across the Main Departure Lounge, even before contemplating a short ride onto The Concourse,

 

with climbing-motion in mind, will list the plane embarkment gates on top,
so you will be entering this Duty-Free area from immigration clearance at the bottom :

1. Shilla (Department Store) Duty Free Shop (includes electronics section on Left)
at dead-center (next to information Desk) of the Concourse boarding area of inCheon international Airport
Tel.82-32-743-4988 open daily 7am ~ 9:30pm (head office Tel.82-2-2639-6000)
≫Official WebSite≪

The Concourse is a new additional boarding building
accessible by taking an underground shuttle tram from the initial Departure Lounge at bottom :
  

2. Lotte (Department Store) Duty Free Shop electronics section
inCheon Airport 3rd Floor Departure Lounge
Tel.82-32-743-7779 open daily 7am ~ 9:30pm (Head Office Tel.82-2-759-6600)
≫Official WebSite≪

electronics corner is at the green icon between Gate 11 & 12 (towards 12) on the Right Wing in the map below :
 dutyfreekorea.co.kr-mall-info_01.html_info_01c420Mon
3. Duty Free Korea (is a company name) electronics section run by Korea Tourism Organization :
open 7am~9:30pm Tel.82-32-743-2000

[K5] icon between Gates 41 and 42 (towards 41), on center of above map
http://www.dutyfreekorea.co.kr/mall/info_01.html

plus an additional electronics section selling only SamSung product around Gate 43
but somehow never shows on Official maps .. I wonder why ?

 

 

*all-in-one map of the Electronics triangle in the boarding area of inCheon Airport (updated 2015.4.12)
– color-marked in YELLOW so click on the photo once and then again, to enlarge into its original size –
영문_면세점_가이드

( RELATED LINKS ) updated December 2013

  • 13.12.15 Official inCheon Airport guide maps list ≫ LiNK ≪
  • 14.6.29 inCheon international AirPort Electronics FAQ ≫LiNK≪
  • 11.5.17 Buy Purchase Apple iPad 2 Duty Free Shop Store inCheon AirPort Serving Seoul Korea ≫LiNK≪
  • 12.4.29 Apple Stores near inCheon and GimPo AirPorts ≫LiNK≪
  • 12.2 inCheon AirPort EXPRESS Train ≫LiNK≪

 

  • 12.2 Korea MAPS ≫LiNK≪
  • 12.4 Korea Apple Store Directory ≫LiNK≪
  • 12.10 Apple Stores in KangNam, Southern SEOUL ≫LiNK≪
  • 11.2 Apple-Contracted Support Centers in South Korea ≫LiNK≪

have iPad, will Travel
– Korea Tech BLog, May 2012 –