Hair Salon in Seoul: The Final Price Must Be on the Wall, and Only a Barber May Shave You

In Korea, a hair salon and a barber hold two different licences, and only one of them is allowed to shave your face. The other one has to show you its final prices before you sit down.

Both of those rules come from the same law, and knowing them saves you from two surprises that are easy to avoid: a bill bigger than you expected, and a stylist who is not licensed to take a razor to your beard.

Here is how it works, and what to say when you walk in.

A salon and a barber are two different licences

Korean law splits hair businesses into two types. A barber business, iyongeop, is defined as tidying a customer's hair or beard by cutting or trimming it. A beauty business, miyongeop, covers perms, cuts, styling, scalp care, colouring and washing.

The difference shows up in what each licence holder may do. The rules list shaving inside the barber's scope of work. The scope for a general beauty licence issued since June 2016 lists perms, cuts, styling, scalp care, colour, washing and eyebrow trimming without medical devices, and shaving is not on it.

	Barber (이용원, iyongwon)	Hair salon (미용실, miyongsil)
Licence	Barber licence	Beauty licence
Haircut and colour	Yes	Yes
Perm	Not in the listed scope	Yes
Face or beard shave	Yes	Not in the listed scope

So if a razor shave is part of what you want, you are looking for a barber, not a hair salon. The English word on the sign does not settle it. Look at the wall instead: a salon is required to display its beauty business registration certificate and the licence inside the shop.

If the licence decides what they can do, what decides what you pay?

The final price list has to be posted, and it includes the extras

This is the rule I wish more visitors knew about. A salon must post a final price list inside the shop. The regulation defines that list as prices that already include materials and service charges.

If the registered floor area is 66 square metres or more, the salon must also put a price list outside, where passers-by can see it, showing at least five items.

The part that matters most at the chair is the next one. When a salon provides three or more services in one visit, it has to give you, in advance, a statement with the final price of each service and the total. The salon then keeps a copy for a month.

A cut, a colour and a treatment in one appointment is exactly that situation. You are entitled to see the total before they start, not after.

Situation	What the salon must do
Any visit	Final price list posted inside
Floor area of 66 square metres or more	Prices posted outside as well, at least 5 items
Three or more services	Itemised final prices and total given to you in advance

Because the posted price already includes service charges, there is nothing extra to add at the end. Tipping in Korea works the same way, even when a card screen asks.

So how do you ask for that total without any Korean?

What to say, and what to show

You do not need much. A photo of the cut you want does most of the work, and a handful of words cover the rest.

Korean	Say it like	Meaning
커트	keoteu	haircut
다듬기	dadeumgi	trim
앞머리	ammeori	fringe
염색	yeomsaek	colour
펌	peom	perm
면도	myeondo	shave

For the price, one sentence is enough: 시작 전에 총 금액 알려 주세요, si-jak jeon-e chong geum-aek al-lyeo ju-se-yo. It means "please tell me the total before you start", and with three or more services it is simply asking for what the regulation already requires.

If you want more everyday phrases, the Korean phrases people actually use covers the ones that come up in shops.

One last rule worth knowing before you book. Hair and beauty work is supposed to happen inside the registered shop. The exceptions the rules list are narrow, such as someone who cannot leave home because of illness, age or disability, or someone getting ready right before a wedding or a broadcast.

FAQ

Can a hair salon in Korea shave my beard?

Shaving is listed in the barber's scope of work, and it is not in the scope for a general beauty licence issued since June 2016. For a razor shave, look for a barber, 이용원 or 이발소.

Do Korean salons have to show prices?

Yes. A final price list, including materials and service charges, has to be posted inside. Salons with a registered area of 66 square metres or more must also post at least five items outside.

Can I get the total before a cut, colour and treatment?

If you are having three or more services, the salon has to give you an itemised statement with each final price and the total in advance.

Can a stylist come to my hotel?

Generally no. The law says hair and beauty work cannot be done outside the shop, with narrow exceptions such as illness, a wedding or a broadcast.

The short version

A barber and a hair salon hold different licences, and only the barber's scope includes shaving. Every salon has to post a final price list that already includes the extras, and when you book three or more services you are owed the total before anyone picks up the scissors.

Bring a photo, learn six words, and ask for the total first.

References

• Public Health Control Act, Article 2 (definitions) and Article 8 (scope of work) : searchable on the Korea Law Information Center

• Enforcement Rule of the Public Health Control Act, Article 13 (work outside the shop), Article 14 (scope of work) and Annex 4 (standards for operators) : searchable on the Korea Law Information Center