ZEISS progressive lens exam at 007 Optical, a Namdaemun-ro optician

A story about getting progressive lenses fitted at an eyewear shop near Namdaemun. This is 007 Optical, on Namdaemun-ro near Hoehyeon Station.

To cut to the conclusion first: famous places really are famous for a reason. It was time for my husband to get new glasses, so we went to 007 Optical, an eyewear shop near Namdaemun that I'd often walked past near my office.

My husband has quite poor eyesight, so his lenses need a lot of compression, which means the cost adds up fast. But they examined him thoroughly from the start, and instead of pushing the most expensive option, they explained things according to our budget — it made a great first impression!

Why 007 Optical over other Namdaemun opticians?

007 Optical is known as a long-running eyewear shop in Namdaemun, and once you walk in, there's a huge variety of frames and sunglasses. Every shelf has such a range of designs that I thought, "there's no way you couldn't find something here," haha.

There were photos of celebrities who'd visited around the store, and it's also known as a place featured on YouTube without paid sponsorship — people just going and paying with their own money. On top of that, having prices clearly marked on every frame made things easy.

How does the progressive lens exam work at 007 Optical?

At 007 Optical, they don't just measure your vision and stop there — they also check your current eye condition and wearing habits. When your eyesight is as poor as my husband's, choosing the right lens really matters.

Progressive lenses in particular blend the distance zone and the near zone within a single lens, so it turns out checking eye condition and habits carefully matters a lot more than simply measuring vision and picking a lens right away.

At 007 Optical, the head optician, with 30 years of experience, personally runs the binocular refraction test and consultation. He's completed an iOPT vision therapy course, so he checked the fine details systematically — like balance between the two eyes and focusing — in a way that felt very thorough!

The actual exam was more detailed than I expected. Instead of just glancing at one machine and calling it done, he switched between several pieces of equipment, checking the current prescription, the difference between the two eyes, and what level of correction would feel comfortable, checking in along the way. It turns out 007 Optical uses ZEISS optometry equipment.

He explained why each adjustment was being made as we went through the results, which made everything much easier to understand. My husband said afterward, "this place seems to actually know what they're doing," and watching from the side, I could see exactly why they get so many customers.

What was the price consultation for high-power compressed lenses like?

What worried me most going into the consultation at 007 Optical was the lens price. My husband's eyesight is bad enough that his lenses need about 3 to 5 levels of compression, so the cost jumps quite a bit every time he gets new glasses.

So during the consultation I told them honestly, "if it's too expensive that's a bit of a burden for us," haha. They still explained what was necessary, but also worked with us to fit it comfortably within our budget.

I really liked this part. Rather than the vibe of "this is the best lens, period," pushing the priciest option, it felt more like they let us choose by looking at prescription, level of compression, and budget together.

Of course, lens prices can vary depending on prescription, compression level, brand, and whether it's progressive, so visiting in person for a direct consultation is the most accurate way to know.

Wait time and atmosphere inside 007 Optical

007 Optical really does have a lot of customers, so we had a bit of a wait too. It was genuinely packed, haha. Even while we were being examined, customers kept coming in.

At first I thought, "wow, how long is this going to take?" but even while busy, the staff explained things kindly and never seemed rushed or curt, which I appreciated.

There's seating inside the store, and coffee and drinks are available, so as long as you give yourself a bit of extra time, the wait isn't too uncomfortable.

Who is 007 Optical a good fit for?

007 Optical is a Namdaemun eyewear shop that suits cases where the exam really matters, like high-power compressed lenses or progressive lenses. After this visit, I understood why 007 Optical keeps coming up as a recommended Namdaemun eyewear shop.

The wide selection of frames and range of price points were nice, but what I liked most was the thorough exam and the consultation that also worked with our budget.

It's a good place to get a proper exam if you're considering compressed lenses due to poor eyesight, or if you're getting progressive lenses for the first time or your previous lenses were uncomfortable. Since it's busy there was some waiting, and it took about 30 minutes to get the glasses ready.

Since it's located in Namdaemun, it's easy to look around and shop nearby while waiting, so the time passed faster than expected, haha. Walking out with our new glasses, we thought, "famous places really are famous for a reason" — that was our visit to 007 Optical, a Namdaemun eyewear shop.