Paying at Olive Young

You bring your items to the register. The staff asks two questions before the total appears.

Both are easy once you know what's coming.

The exchange

봉투 필요하세요? 100원 추가되세요 bong-tu pil-yo-ha-se-yo? baek won chu-ga-doe-se-yo "Do you need a bag? It's an extra 100 won."

Plastic bags cost money at almost every store in Korea — supermarkets, convenience stores, beauty stores. The charge is usually 100 to 200 won. Staff ask every time instead of bagging automatically.

아니요, 그냥 가방에 넣을게요 a-ni-yo, geu-nyang ga-bang-e neo-eul-ge-yo "No, I'll just put it in my bag."

Or if you want one:

네, 담아주세요 — "Yes, please bag it."

결제는 카드로 도와드릴까요? gyeol-je-neun ka-deu-ro do-wa-deu-ril-kka-yo? "Shall I help you pay by card?"

네, 카드로 결제해 주세요 ne, ka-deu-ro gyeol-je-hae ju-se-yo "Yes, please process it by card."

Words to know

The bag question

봉투 필요하세요? is one of the most common questions you'll hear at any Korean register. The answer is always one of these:

네, 담아주세요 — "Yes, please" 괜찮아요 — "No thanks" 그냥 가방에 넣을게요 — "I'll put it in my bag"

괜찮아요 works as a polite no to almost any offer at the register — the bag, a receipt, a points card. One phrase handles all of it.

Paying by card

Foreign cards work at Olive Young with no issues. The reader is on the counter facing you — tap or insert it yourself.

할부로 하시겠어요? — "Would you like to pay in installments?"

This comes up for larger purchases. 일시불로 해주세요 (il-si-bul-lo hae-ju-se-yo) means "pay in full" — say this and the transaction goes through as a single charge.

영수증 드릴까요? — "Would you like a receipt?" 괜찮아요 — or 네, 주세요 if you want one.

Membership and points

멤버십 있으세요? — "Do you have a membership?"

Olive Young's app gives you points on every purchase and access to member-only discounts. If you're staying in Korea for more than a few days, it's worth setting up. You'll need a phone number to register.

If you don't have one: 괜찮아요 — no pressure, the transaction goes through normally.

What to actually do

1. When asked 봉투 필요하세요?, say 괜찮아요 to skip the bag or 네, 담아주세요 to get one
2. For card payment, say 카드로 결제해 주세요 or just tap your card when the reader lights up
3. If asked 할부로 하시겠어요?, say 일시불로 해주세요 to pay in full
4. 괜찮아요 handles the receipt and points questions
5. Check for an Olive Young app discount before you pay — member prices are often lower

The whole checkout takes under a minute. 봉투, 카드, 괜찮아요 — three words cover most of it.

Checkout in Korea follows the same pattern everywhere, once you know the questions. K-PATTO teaches 300+ phrases like these through a webtoon story set in Seoul, with native audio on every line. The first ten episodes are free.