The Hub of Sparkle!

Korea is one of the heaviest technology using countries in the world, no doubt about it. Go to the Techno Mart or the behemoth Yongsan Electronics Market if you need proof on that. In any case, there’s plenty of new devices and things to buy.

But what if you just need the old one fixed? I’m talking computers, cameras, cell phones, stereos, and the like. If it’s rather old it’s may not be worth fixing (time to upgrade), but if it’s fairly recent it’s still worth fixing, where do you go?

With fairness to a couple of places that can work with foreigners (Johnny Computer in Itaewon being one such place that claims ‘Perfect English’), in some cases the best place to go is the repair shop. They’re called ‘Service Centers’ or ‘After Service Centers’, and quite a few of them are concentrated in the Yongsan area, near the Electronic Market. The problem, however, was finding them.

During a recent outing my (fairly nice) Fuji camera managed to hit the floor. The battery door flew off and let the batteries fly. After reassembling all the various bits, the camera wouldn’t turn on again, and the battery door didn’t shut completely. I started with a call to 1330, one of Korea’s hotlines for questions or the occasional need for real-time translation. They responded that a Fuji service center was in Yongsan, gave me their phone number, but noted that they probably couldn’t speak English that well. Off I went, knowing that somewhere in Yongsan a service center would be waiting for me.

Um, yeah – the only thing people wanted to do was sell me a new camera. Honestly, I can’t say I blame them – there’s no money in directing you to the service center / repair shop. On the fourth or fifth Korean, I finally got some directions to ‘the other building’. Wait, what? The ‘other building’?! Isn’t everything electronic contained in this one building?!

As it turns out, no – use an above-ground skyway / passageway over the train tracks to access a second building full of electronics. My head began to spin: how do these people make enough money when they all sell the same products at the same prices in the same place? My business background would tell me that they can’t all be making a living off whatever they’re making, or even turning a profit… In any case, I searched the 3rd floor, where the Fuji service center was supposed to be. No dice. I found the HP Service Center… Finally I stumble across the Fujitsu Service Center – on the 2nd floor. Finally, I thought, now I can get this camera fixed and go home. I should’ve guessed by looking at the signs that they only fixed computers at this Service Center. After the guy realized I was holding a camera, he was nice enough to print off a map and the address of the place to go.

So now I at least have a map. I’m supposed to go to a third building, another huge electronics building just down the street called 전지랜드, or Electro Land. This is it, I thought, either it works out here or I’m going home. After navigating my way to the 3rd floor, I finally found the Fuji Service Center. I handed the woman my camera; she plays with it for a minute before I show her the area needing a fix. In less than a minute, she asked for my name and number, then wrote the fee on a small slip of paper. When I asked ‘how long?’, the response was ’20-30 minutes’. This wasn’t the sort of place that would send it out to somewhere else – this was the sort of place that it would get sent off to. In any case, I waited for a few minutes before I was told they would have to get a part from elsewhere – could I come back tomorrow? Wow… um, sure, ok… Tomorrow is better than next week… Especially considering the fee – about 30,000 won ($25 USD, give or take)

I went back the next day, and just as expected, the camera was ready to go for 30,000 won. My only minor irritations was finding the place again, and having to set the settings again (that ‘factory reset’ must have been activated during the fixing process).

After that long-winded story, here’s what you’ll need to know to get your own electronic stuff fixed.

First, ask yourself if it’s time to upgrade. Just like back home, the fix might be cheap or it could cost more than buying the same thing new. Check eBay for the current prices on your device – it might be cheaper / easier to get the same thing or a new thing that’s an upgrade for you.

Second, find your way to the right building – bear in mind there are three huge buildings, close to each other to walk but you can easily get lost / turned around / spend all day in any one of them. It doesn’t help that each one of them has several floors with much of the same stuff. The main building (the one closest to the subway station) connects to the ‘other’ building – called 터미널 점자 쇼핑 – through the skyway over the train tracks. The third building is called 전지랜드, and has an older side and a newer side. They’re directly connected, and probably won’t even notice when you cross over from one side to the other.
Third, be prepared to leave your device – while most places appeared to have all the equipment and parts to fix your beloved right then and there, don’t take it for granted. It depends partially on the needed parts and services, but also depends on the severity of the damage.

Have you had any problems with your electronics in Korea? Sound off in the comments below!

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camera, computer, Electro Land, fixing electronics, Jeonji Land, life in korea, Yongsan Electronic Market