Payment weirdness at Korean checkout is common for foreign cards and almost always resolves on its own, which is small comfort while three hundred dollars is missing. The useful thing is knowing which of the three patterns you are looking at, because they resolve very differently.
Authorisation holds that are not charges
A declined or incomplete checkout frequently leaves an authorisation hold on the card, which appears as a pending transaction indistinguishable from a real charge. These typically drop off in three to seven business days without any action, and up to ten for cross-border transactions. Retrying checkout five times leaves five holds, which is how people end up with a card that appears to have been charged 1,500 USD for one order.
Genuine duplicate charges
A real double charge shows two posted, settled transactions rather than pending holds. This happens when a checkout times out after the payment succeeded and the buyer retried. Contact the store first with both transaction dates and amounts, since stores refund duplicates routinely and faster than a card dispute would resolve it.
Payment shown as failed but money taken
The order page shows an incomplete payment and your statement shows a charge. This is usually a settled transaction whose confirmation never reached the store. The store can look it up by the payment reference and either attach it to your order or refund it. Do not place a second order until this is resolved, or you will genuinely own two.
Reducing the frequency
Do not retry a declining card more than twice, since repeated attempts increase both holds and fraud flags. Notify your card issuer that you make purchases in Korea, which resolves a substantial share of declines. And use a card with no foreign transaction fee that you use regularly, since a rarely used card triggers more risk checks.
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Start a buy-for-me order →Frequently asked
How long do authorisation holds last?
Commonly three to seven business days, sometimes ten on cross-border transactions. They release automatically and do not require a dispute.
Should I file a chargeback?
Not as a first step. Contacting the store is faster and a chargeback filed while the store is already processing a refund can result in the refund being reversed and the account being flagged.
Why did my card decline when it has funds?
Cross-border transactions to Korea trigger risk rules on many US cards, particularly for a first purchase at an unfamiliar merchant. A quick call to your issuer usually clears it for subsequent attempts.