If You Only Know Gentle Monster — 3 Korean Eyewear Brands Worth Knowing
Two brands most travelers have never heard of, and why that's actually the point.
Partly personally verified — Daniel checked some of these in person
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Ask a traveler about Korean eyewear and Gentle Monster comes up first, every time. Fair enough — their stores are basically installation art (the same company's fragrance house works the same way). But stopping there means missing two brands with completely different price points and personalities. All three make glasses and sunglasses; here's what actually separates them. 👓
All three have a Seongsu location, so you can see them in one afternoon. Gentle Monster (₩250,000–350,000+) is in a different league — every store is designed by a different architect, and the price is a gift or a one-time art piece, not everyday glasses. Go for the store, not the frames. Blue Elephant (₩40,000–70,000) has a huge new "Space Seongsu" flagship on Yeonmujang-gil at a strikingly low price — three or four pairs for the cost of one Gentle Monster frame; multiple Myeongdong branches too. Double Lovers (₩49,900–89,900) is the one almost nobody's heard of, also on Yeonmujang-gil, gallery-style display, "accessible luxury" — the one to check first if you actually need a pair.
| Brand | Price | Locations | Go for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gentle Monster | ₩250,000–350,000+ | Hongdae, Apgujeong, Seongsu/Dosan (Haus Nowhere) | The store as an art experience |
| Blue Elephant | ₩40,000–70,000 | Space Seongsu (Yeonmujang-gil), Seoul Forest, several in Myeongdong, Hannam | A big flagship at a very low price; everyday pairs |
| Double Lovers | ₩49,900–89,900 | Seongsu (45-1 Yeonmujang-gil) | The under-the-radar pick; a pair you'll actually wear |
Gentle Monster — Hongdae, Apgujeong, Seongsu
Every location is designed by a different architect or design collective, and it shows. The Hongdae (홍대) flagship, a minimalist Apgujeong (압구정) space that reads more like a Zen temple than a store, and the 14-story Haus Nowhere in Seongsu (성수동)/Dosan — which houses a Tamburins beauty concept and a Nudake café in the basement — each turn the store itself into its own world. Frames run ₩250,000–₩350,000, with premium lines going higher.
The stores are genuinely art. But that price range isn't one you rebuy for everyday glasses — it's a gift, or a one-time "I want an eyewear art piece" purchase. If you're looking for glasses you'll actually wear daily, check the other two first.
Blue Elephant — Seongsu, Myeongdong, Hannam, Seoul Forest
Founded in 2019, the brand opened a roughly 1,000-pyeong (about 3,300㎡) flagship, "Space Seongsu," on Yeonmujang-gil in late November 2025 — four floors from ground level to a rooftop, built around a 12-meter spherical media-art installation. There's also a showroom in Seoul Forest (their first store), multiple Myeongdong (명동) locations, and one in Hannam (한남동). Frames and sunglasses run ₩40,000–₩70,000.
For a flagship this size, the price is strikingly low — you could buy three or four pairs for the price of one Gentle Monster frame. The Seongsu store is still more of a local spot than a tourist one, though, so it's less known among visitors.
There's more than one Blue Elephant location in Myeongdong. If the piece you want isn't at the store you walked into, another nearby branch might have it.
Double Lovers — Seongsu
Launched in 2015 around the concept of "the duality of love and gaze," Double Lovers' Seongsu flagship on Yeonmujang-gil spans 120 pyeong (about 400㎡) across two floors, with frames displayed gallery-style. The brand's own positioning is "Accessible Luxury."
Almost nobody's heard of this one. Of the three, it's the one I'd point you to first.
A Note From Daniel — our real human editorI bought a pair here recently — thin silver frames, around ₩70,000 (checking the brand's own site, it was actually their ₩69,900 silver optical line). Compared to the well-known eyewear houses that easily run ₩200,000–₩300,000+, that felt like real value. It's become the pair I actually reach for most, heading to work or out for the day.
Yuna's TipAll three have a Seongsu location (Gentle Monster's near Dosan, Blue Elephant and Double Lovers both on Yeonmujang-gil), so you can hit all of them in one afternoon. By price: Gentle Monster (₩250,000+) is in a different league entirely, while Blue Elephant (₩40,000–70,000) and Double Lovers (₩49,900–89,900) sit in roughly the same range. Go to Gentle Monster for the store experience; go to the other two if you actually need a pair of glasses. Same tiered-by-price logic if you're shopping for jewelry instead. ✨
Gentle Monster Hongdae flagship — 54 Dokmak-ro 7-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul · ₩250,000–350,000. Blue Elephant Space Seongsu — Yeonmujang-gil, Seongdong-gu (opened Nov 29, 2025, ~1,000 pyeong) · ₩40,000–70,000. Double Lovers Seongsu flagship — 45-1 Yeonmujang-gil, Seongdong-gu, Seoul · ₩49,900–89,900 (per brand's own site).
