tailors in seoul korea?

It has been ages since I have posted here at Style Forum, but I came across this thread in a Google search on "shoe repair Korea" and was pleased to discover that there were so many Korea-knowledgeable menswear enthusiasts here. You may all be of great help to me. I am teaching ESL in Changwon, a city of 1.2 million on the south coast, 45 minutes from Busan. Hence, I will not get to Seoul all that often; Busan is much easier for me to get to, if there are any worthwhile resources there (and I would hope so, since it's a city the size of Los Angeles). I plan to teach in Korea for a number of years, possibly until I hit retirement age and hopefully move to Buenos Aires (which must be a great menswear town!). Right now I'm teaching adults at a private academy, but I expect I will shift to a university job after a year or too. My B.A. is in American Studies from Yale; my master's degrees are in English and education from Boston University. Koreans are very snobby about credentials and these ones are serving me well. Also benefiting me is my habit of dressing well for work every day. Most ESL teachers are young and are slobs, frankly. My boss loves that I am almost always in a jacket and tie (I relax my code a bit on Fridays), and I get enormous respect on the street (including a lot of interest from Korean women). I'm 51 years old, 6'2", 205 lbs., brown-haired shifting to silver, reasonable-looking (and Koreans make me feel that I am a Greek god or something). Although I appreciate that most Korean men dress up for work, the quality of their suits and shoes, at least in Changwon, is not good. It is not strictly a question of cost. I have always lived on a limited budget compared to a lawyer or business executive, but by canny buying and good alterations, I manage to look good. Maybe the men of Seoul do a better job putting themselves together. I do like the first Korean menswear magazine I have found, Luel, which is sort of a Details but probably a little better than that publication. There is also a new Korean TV drama that I enjoy watching, Secret Agent Miss Oh, one of whose stars, Ryu Jin, is wardrobed in a terrifically fashionable way. Since my clothing and shoes matter to me, I do not mind the added cost if I have to ship items for repairs. If there is no trustworthy shoe repair shop in Changwon (and there does not appear to be), I am comfortable with shipping my shoes to Seoul, or back to America, or wherever is most convenient. A decent shoe repair shop, Myung-dong Sa, was mentioned by aleeboy; does anyone have an address? Do they have any employees who can communicate in English? Are there any shirtmakers -- perhaps Hahn's or Savile Row in Seoul? -- who can replace collars and cuffs to precise specifications? If not, I will continue to use Maldonado in San Antonio, Texas, who is excellent. Thank you all in advance for your thoughts.

Just got these made from a little underground shop for about $30 each:

Just got another suit commissioned by Hahn. Charcoal pinstripe SB 2B with peak lapels and hacking pockets. Pics soon!

Looking forward to seeing the pics. Will be getting a suit done at Hahns soon. Ryono, where do you buy shoes in Korea, or do you order from outside?

Really like the previous suit you had done at Hahns. What was the cost of that one?

Originally Posted by topbroker

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stuff

You should probably start a new threak for this, you will get more replies.

Originally Posted by panorama

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Looking forward to seeing the pics. Will be getting a suit done at Hahns soon. Ryono, where do you buy shoes in Korea, or do you order from outside?

Really like the previous suit you had done at Hahns. What was the cost of that one?

I brought my shoes from the States (internet). The shoes here are way overpriced and the quality is sub-par. I'm just about done my English teaching here in Korea, so I'm leaving with a bang. I will also get one or two jackets from Hahn as well.

Here's his prices, give or take a few bucks due to fabric and other options:

3 piece suit: 600,000 won
2 piece suit: 500,000 won
jacket (wool): 400,000 won
jacket (linen): 350,000 won
trousers: 150,000 won
odd vest: 150,000 won
shirts: 45,000 won
Tux: 500,000 won


Hope this helps, good luck!

Originally Posted by ryoneo

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The shoes here are way overpriced and the quality is sub-par.

Tell me about it! ha ha

Originally Posted by topbroker

Click to expand...

It has been ages since I have posted here at Style Forum, but I came across this thread in a Google search on "shoe repair Korea" and was pleased to discover that there were so many Korea-knowledgeable menswear enthusiasts here. You may all be of great help to me.

I am teaching ESL in Changwon, a city of 1.2 million on the south coast, 45 minutes from Busan. Hence, I will not get to Seoul all that often; Busan is much easier for me to get to, if there are any worthwhile resources there (and I would hope so, since it's a city the size of Los Angeles).

I plan to teach in Korea for a number of years, possibly until I hit retirement age and hopefully move to Buenos Aires (which must be a great menswear town!). Right now I'm teaching adults at a private academy, but I expect I will shift to a university job after a year or too. My B.A. is in American Studies from Yale; my master's degrees are in English and education from Boston University. Koreans are very snobby about credentials and these ones are serving me well.

Also benefiting me is my habit of dressing well for work every day. Most ESL teachers are young and are slobs, frankly. My boss loves that I am almost always in a jacket and tie (I relax my code a bit on Fridays), and I get enormous respect on the street (including a lot of interest from Korean women). I'm 51 years old, 6'2", 205 lbs., brown-haired shifting to silver, reasonable-looking (and Koreans make me feel that I am a Greek god or something).

Although I appreciate that most Korean men dress up for work, the quality of their suits and shoes, at least in Changwon, is not good. It is not strictly a question of cost. I have always lived on a limited budget compared to a lawyer or business executive, but by canny buying and good alterations, I manage to look good. Maybe the men of Seoul do a better job putting themselves together. I do like the first Korean menswear magazine I have found, Luel, which is sort of a Details but probably a little better than that publication. There is also a new Korean TV drama that I enjoy watching, Secret Agent Miss Oh, one of whose stars, Ryu Jin, is wardrobed in a terrifically fashionable way.

Since my clothing and shoes matter to me, I do not mind the added cost if I have to ship items for repairs. If there is no trustworthy shoe repair shop in Changwon (and there does not appear to be), I am comfortable with shipping my shoes to Seoul, or back to America, or wherever is most convenient. A decent shoe repair shop, Myung-dong Sa, was mentioned by aleeboy; does anyone have an address? Do they have any employees who can communicate in English?

Are there any shirtmakers -- perhaps Hahn's or Savile Row in Seoul? -- who can replace collars and cuffs to precise specifications? If not, I will continue to use Maldonado in San Antonio, Texas, who is excellent.

Thank you all in advance for your thoughts.




Thanks for the post, you are amazing...

Originally Posted by ryoneo

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Just got these made from a little underground shop for about $30 each:

Where is this little shop? They look good.

Originally Posted by jon_blaze

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Where is this little shop? They look good.

It's called Diana's Tailors past TOM TOM'S coffee heading towards the entrance arch of Itaewon. The quality is just okay, but it's good for beater shirts. Its located underground.

Any pics of your new suits Ryoneo?

I just got some shirts made at Hahns and they are decent, will probably get a suit or two when I return from vacation...

I'm probably going to leave Korea with 7 or so suits and double the shirts.... I was thinking about getting a few coats made. I don't plan on returning to Korea anytime soon, so I'll leave with all I can. I know coming back to the states and getting a custom/MTM for tripple the price is going to be a culture shock to me

Originally Posted by panorama

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Any pics of your new suits Ryoneo?

I just got some shirts made at Hahns and they are decent, will probably get a suit or two when I return from vacation...

I will be picking them up today. I think that shirts are a dime-a-dozen in Korea. To my knowledge, they are all machine made and about the same price and quality.

yeah, the shirts I got are nothing special but not bad at all, definitely ok for work...

Originally Posted by panorama

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yeah, the shirts I got are nothing special but not bad at all, definitely ok for work...

Sorry for the late reply. I have been traveling a bit, but now I'm back home in the states. Yes, shirts in Itaewon are like the same everywhere else. But here is some last things that I have picked up from Hahn:




And this is other stuff from another tailor: