Olive Young Black Friday 2026 (Nov 1–7): A Visitor's Guide to the In-Store Sale in Korea

Last checked: November 1, 2026. Sale dates and deals come from Olive Young's own announcement. Daily deals, store lists and box contents change during the week, so check the Olive Young app's notices or ask staff in store.

If your trip to Korea falls in the first week of November, you've landed in the middle of one of the busiest weeks of the year at Olive Young (올리브영). The chain runs its Black Friday sale, which shoppers in Korea shorten to "Olyoung Beulpeu" (올영 블프), once a year, and in 2026 it runs from Sunday, November 1 to Saturday, November 7.

It is not the same as the better-known "Olive Young Sale" that comes around four times a year, and it works a little differently. Some deals only exist in physical stores, some change every day, and the limited-edition boxes tend to draw lines outside the shop.

This guide explains what Olive Young Black Friday is, which deals matter if you're shopping in person as a visitor, how the tax refund and payment work during the sale, and what comes next if your trip is later in the season. It's a shopping guide, not a product list: we haven't tested the sale items, and what you buy is up to your skin and your suitcase.

Olive Young Black Friday 2026 at a glance

What	Details
Dates	November 1–7, 2026 (Sunday to Saturday)
Where	Olive Young stores in Korea and the Korean online mall
Main deals	"LAST PICK" store-only discounts, daily and weekly specials, limited "Blackprize" boxes, coupons
Date to note	November 4 (Wednesday): a one-day, limited-quantity "special drop"
Tax refund	Still applies: KRW 15,000 or more per receipt, physical passport, at stores that offer instant refunds
Missed it?	The December Olive Young Sale follows. 2026 dates not yet announced

All sale details above are from Olive Young's corporate newsroom feature published on October 29, 2026. Store rules for the tax refund are from the official page of the Olive Young Myeongdong Global Store.

What is Olive Young Black Friday?

Olive Young describes its Black Friday as an annual sale held once a year, around November, named after the American shopping day that follows Thanksgiving. The difference is timing. In Korea it starts in early November, weeks before the U.S. event, so if you've been waiting for late November, you'll miss it.

Olive Young now runs three kinds of regular promotions, and visitors often mix them up:

Promotion	How often	When	Who it's for
Olive Young Black Friday (올영 블프)	Once a year	Early November (Nov 1–7 in 2026)	All Olive Young customers
Olive Young Sale (올영세일)	Four times a year	March, June, September, December	All Olive Young customers
Olive Day (올리브 데이)	Monthly	25th–27th of each month	Olive Members (the loyalty program)

The practical takeaway: Black Friday and the Olive Young Sale are open to anyone who walks in. Olive Day is a members' event, and as we explain below, the in-store membership isn't set up for short-term visitors.

The deals, explained

Olive Young's announcement lists four main things to watch. None of them come with a published product list, which is normal for this sale: items are revealed in the app and in stores as the week goes on.

LAST PICK: store-only discounts

Each major offline store has its own "LAST PICK" items with deeper discounts, and the items differ from store to store. Olive Young didn't publish which stores take part or what they stock. For a visitor, this is the one deal that rewards walking into more than one big branch. If you're already shopping in Myeongdong and Seongsu on different days, compare the LAST PICK displays in both.

Daily and weekly specials

Selected products are discounted for a single day or for the whole week. Olive Young's own advice is to grab daily specials quickly, because they end that day. If you see something on your list marked as a one-day deal, don't plan to come back for it tomorrow.

"Blackprize" boxes

The limited-quantity random boxes are the headline item. In 2026 there are two types, each holding six to seven full-size products, sold at a steep discount in stores and on the online mall. Olive Young didn't publish the price, the brands inside or the quantity. It did say that the boxes are popular enough to cause lines in front of stores during Black Friday week. A random box is a gamble for a traveler: you might get products you'd never choose, and six or seven full-size items take real suitcase space.

The November 4 special drop

Olive Young has teased a one-day "special drop" on Wednesday, November 4, in limited quantities. What it contains wasn't announced at the time of writing. If you're in Seoul that day and curious, go early rather than late.

Can tourists shop the sale?

Yes. The sale runs in Olive Young's stores, and Olive Young lists Black Friday as open to all customers rather than members only. A few things are worth knowing before you go.

Membership. According to the Myeongdong Global Store's official page, in-store membership is for Korean residents with a Korean phone number. Foreign visitors are pointed to the Olive Young Global Mall membership at global.oliveyoung.com instead. In practice, that means some app coupons and member-only prices may not apply to you in store. Shelf discounts and store-only deals don't depend on an app account.

The app is in Korean. Olive Young says full details are posted in the app's notices section. The domestic app is designed for Korean shoppers, so the shelf labels and staff are a simpler guide in person.

Paying. The Myeongdong Global Store's official page lists mobile payments such as WeChat Pay and Alipay. Paper bags are KRW 100 each and reusable bags KRW 500, so bring a foldable tote for a big haul.

Exchanges and refunds. The same page says unopened regular items can be exchanged or refunded within 15 days with the receipt and the payment method you used, and refunds only work at the store where you bought them. Keep receipts together if you're shopping at several branches.

Tax refunds during the sale

A sale doesn't change the tax refund rules. At the Myeongdong Global Store, Olive Young's official page says you can get an instant refund at the counter when you spend KRW 15,000 or more and show your physical passport. Each receipt can be refunded for purchases between KRW 15,000 and KRW 1,000,000, and the page also mentions a KRW 5 million total limit. The refund rate is 5–8% of the purchase amount, worked out in KRW 1,000 steps.

Two things to watch during a discount week:

• Discounts lower your receipt total. A basket that would have passed KRW 15,000 at full price might fall just under it after the sale price, so check before you pay.
• Some items aren't eligible. The official page names sanitary goods, shopping bags and dried fruit products as examples.

Not every small branch offers the instant refund, so ask before you pay if you're away from the main shopping streets. Our Korea tax refund guide covers downtown and airport refunds too.

Where to shop it

Since LAST PICK deals belong to "major" stores, the large branches in tourist areas are the obvious places to try. Olive Young didn't name the participating stores, so treat these as likely starting points, not a guaranteed list.

• Olive Young Myeongdong Global Store (올리브영 명동 글로벌 스토어): 53 Myeongdong-gil, Jung-gu. The official page lists hours of 10:00–22:30 every day, noting they can change, plus a GTF tax refund desk on the 2nd floor.
• Other big branches in Myeongdong, Seongsu and Hongdae: the larger the store, the more likely it is to carry the full range of sale stock. Check hours on a map app before you go.

If it's your first time at the chain, our Olive Young first-timer's guide covers the store layout, paying and bags in more detail.

Missed the week? What comes next

If your trip is later in the season, there are two more chances before the year ends:

• Olive Day, November 25–27: a monthly members' event. Because in-store membership needs a Korean phone number, it's less useful for most visitors.
• The December Olive Young Sale: Olive Young says the year-end sale follows Black Friday. It's one of the four regular sales held in March, June, September and December. Exact 2026 dates hadn't been announced when we checked, so look for the announcement in late November.

Practical tips

• Go early in the day, especially on weekends and on November 4. The boxes are limited and Olive Young itself mentions lines.
• Make a short list before you go. Sale weeks pile promotions on top of promotions, and it's easy to buy extras you don't need.
• Bring your physical passport, not a photo of it. You'll need it for the instant tax refund.
• Check that each receipt still reaches KRW 15,000 after discounts if you want the refund.
• Think about luggage before buying a random box. Six or seven full-size products add up, and liquids and creams count toward the limits for your carry-on.
• Photograph shelf tags and product names. It helps later if you want to compare prices or buy again online.

FAQ

When is Olive Young Black Friday 2026?
November 1 to 7, 2026, according to Olive Young's own newsroom. It runs in stores and on the online mall in Korea.

Is Olive Young Black Friday the same as the Olive Young Sale?
No. Black Friday happens once a year in November. The Olive Young Sale happens four times a year, in March, June, September and December, and the December edition follows Black Friday.

Can I get a tax refund on Black Friday purchases?
Yes, the usual rules apply. At stores with instant refunds, you need to spend at least KRW 15,000 on a receipt and show your physical passport. Remember that sale prices lower your total.

What's in the Olive Young Blackprize box?
Olive Young says there are two types, each with six to seven full-size products, sold at a big discount in limited numbers. It didn't publish the contents or price, so you'll only know what's inside once you buy one.

Sources

• Olive Young Newsroom (October 29, 2026): When is Olive Young Black Friday? (Korean)
• Olive Young Myeongdong Global Store (official page)

Cards: illustrated by Seoul Beauty Finds.