Guide
Deposits, lateness and cancellation at Seoul salons
Why shops ask for a deposit, how strict they are about being late, and what Korea's consumer dispute guideline says.
Deposits are common — and usually small
Many salons, nail shops and head spas in Hongdae ask for a deposit to hold your slot, mainly to prevent no-shows. In the shop notices we checked in November 2026, deposits ranged from ₩5,000 to ₩50,000 and were usually deducted from the final bill. Some shops only confirm the booking once the deposit arrives; several ask for it by bank transfer and send their account number by text, which can be hard to do from abroad — ask whether card payment or a platform booking is possible instead.
Ten minutes late can count as a no-show
A rule that surprises visitors: several shops state that arriving more than 10 to 15 minutes late counts as a no-show, the deposit is kept, and the booking is cancelled. If you are running late, message the shop before your time — the Korean phrase card on this site has a line for it.
Cancellation windows vary
Shops set their own deadlines. In the notices we checked, free cancellation was typically possible up to two or three days before the visit (one head spa: 48 hours), and same-day changes or cancellations lost the deposit. Check the shop's rule before you pay, and screenshot it.
What the official guideline says
Korea's Fair Trade Commission publishes a Consumer Dispute Settlement Standard. It has a section for beauty businesses (hair, nails, skin care, waxing): if a customer cancels for their own reasons before the service starts, the customer bears 10% of the total price, and anything already paid above that is refunded. This is a guideline for settling disputes, not a strict law, and its wording is written around contracts and packages rather than a single same-day appointment — there is no separate beauty-shop rule on deposits or no-shows. In practice, the shop's own posted policy is what you will be held to.
Sources (checked Nov 2026): Fair Trade Commission Notice 2025-14, Consumer Dispute Settlement Standard, Annex 2 (beauty businesses); deposit and no-show notices published by Hongdae nail shops, head spas and salons on Naver Place and Creatrip.