Last week while bustling about finding some odds and ends for my new apartment, I remembered hearing from a friend about a used goods store in the Capital Tower building in Dunsan. I went to check it out and found something quite different than what I was expecting.
The Capital Tower, a stair-shaped building near the Government Complex subway station, hosts one of several dozen Beautiful Stores located around Korea. The Beautiful Store is much like any charitable thrift store that you would find at home with used books, clothing, bags, shoes, small appliances and dishware at very low prices. They also, for some reason, stock fair-trade coffee. The proceeds from their efforts go to many charitable endeavours, such as helping people who can’t afford it otherwise go to school.
They accept many items for donation, including:
- Clothes, shoes, toys and books kids become too old to use
- Clothes which do not suit you or you don’t like any more
- A variety of miscellaneous goods including bags, wallets, accessories and decorations
- Kitchen utensils like bowls and coffee cups
There are also some items which they are unable to accept, which are listed in detail on their website. You can take it to either their Dunsan-dong or Daejeon Station (in Jungang Market, across from the Korean Medicine Street) locations or arrange for pick-up (1577-1113) if you have more than three boxes of items to donate. They also have free delivery service, check their site for details.
So, whether you’re just arriving and looking for a few things for your apartment, or leaving and can’t sell everything but want to keep useful things out of the landfill, the Beautiful Store can offer you a solution.
Dunsan Location:
Daejeon Station Location:
