Hot Spots
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Do You Want to Shop for Korean Antiques? Tong-In Store!!
Tong-In Store is a shopping mall dedicated to traditional crafts, clothing, and books. Located on Insa-dong Street, the mall has some of the finest craft and antiques shops in South Korea. You can also shop for authentic Korean clothes – prices are usually lower than most shops in the city. Antique crafts, folk paintings, and valuable books are available here, but you can only purchase them through auctions.
Tong-in Shop has been spreading our culture and art to both Koreans and foreigners since 1924. The 1st floor is the Handcraft Shop, 2nd floor is the traditional workshop, 3rd floor is the traditional art exhibition hall, and the 4th floor is the modern art exhibition hall. The basement is used as a gallery for external work. It is like home to over 100 shops that sell ancient and contemporary traditional crafts, as well as galleries that display craft collections.
This is the entrance and it’s a 6 story building with different shops and exhibitions each floor.
You can see the antique displays at the shop. Most of them look unfamiliar to me as well.
I like those Korean traditional potteries. They look beautiful especially the colors. You can go visit and get some for souvenirs for yourself.
They have so many different kinds but I would say most of them are just for decoration.
You can also see the backyard with trees and Korean crocks and it looks like the very old times in Korea.
Here’s some more information about this place if you’re interested in visiting here.
Address : 32, Insadong-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul
Location : Near the Exit 5 of Jongno-samga Station, line 5
Operating Hours : 10:00 ~ 19:00
Contact Number : 02-733-4867
Homepage : www.tonginstore.com (Korean only)
Shopping
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The Biggest, Oldest Market in Korea, Namdaemun Market!!
Namdaemun Market is a large traditional market selling everything and it’s one of the oldest continually running markets in Korea. The streets where the market is located were built in a time when cars were not even running. You can find quality leather goods, clothing, crafts, imported goods, utensils, electronics, and traditional oriental medicines at really affordable rates. Once you get there, you’ll get lost in a maze diving yourself into shopping.
Seoul City announced plans to renovate the market in 2007 and reconstruction and renovations are still being continued. Most of the clothes here cost between 10,000 to 20,000 KRW. Many retailers buy their items, particularly clothing, at wholesale prices, to resell in their own stores in other sites. During the day, you can see locals shopping for groceries and household items. At night, Namdaemun becomes a night market from 11pm until 4am every day.
Namdaemun is also called Sungnyemun and it’s one of the Korean typical castles. When you get to the market, you can get a guideline brochure at the information booth.
You can see so many people in the alley. And it’s not hard to find foreigners among them.
There’s an exchange booth here. No wonder we have so many foreign visitors here.
You can’t even imagine how many different kinds of street snacks you’ll be able to see there. I didn’t even know them either. They look so appetizing.
You can also see so many restaurants that have been introduced on TV. I would say this is the place where people are living their real lives.
I got this information from their homepage. They have more than 10,000 stores and 300,000 visitors each day. Wow, that’s a lot.
Here’s some more information about this place if you’re interested in visiting here.
Address : 21, Namdaemunsijang-4gil, Jung-gu, Seoul
Location : Near the Exit 5 and 6 of Hoehyeon Station, line 4
Operating Hours : 00:00 ~ 23:00 (Shops close at their close time.)
Contact Number : 02-753-2805
Homepage (English) : http://namdaemunmarket.co.kr/index.php
Shopping
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For Your Local Shopping! Cheonho Rodeo Street!!
Since I moved to my current place, one of the things that I like about this area is Cheonho Rodeo Street. It’s like a street market with many vendors and many shops for almost everything as well as many must-go restaurants. It is a place for trendy young people and it’s also good for your memories. Besides, this place becomes a nightlife attraction at night so it looks fantastic when you take a stroll after the sunset since this street is also full of bars as well.
I would say that I was lucky to move to this place. I’m not originally from Seoul and I used to live in the Guro area for a while which is totally opposite to this place. I don’t know why I’m feeling this but I feel the air in this place is cleaner than Guro and it's a more small-town feeling because it has more trees. Seoul has quite a typical big city coldness but I feel most comfortable that I’ve ever felt before in Seoul. Maybe that’s because I started my marriage life in this place. Cheonho Rodeo Street gives more joy to me.
It could be just a typical street in Seoul. So many shops and cars in the alley. Oops, sorry I didn’t know that there was a sign of an adult shop in the picture, ha.
My wife likes to pick up flowers at this shop. And the prices are very reasonable.
It’s also fun with shopping at these stores. More trendy and also cheaper.
We just dropped by a sneaker shop. We could see that most products were on sale.
This is the night look in this place. The Korean sign says ‘Cheonho-dong Rodeo Street’.
There are so many young couples and people at night. Sadly, I’m not young enough anymore but I still enjoy wandering this place at night.
There are more shops and bars open at night with more people. It has so many nightlife attractions but it’s still attractive during the daytime as well.
Here’s some more information about this place if you’re interested in visiting here.
Address : 9, Cheonhodae-ro 157-gil, Gangdong-gu, Seoul
Location : Near the Exit 5 of Cheonho Station, line 5 & 8
Operating Hours : 24 Hours (Shops close at their close time.)
Shopping
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Luxurious Residence with Multiple Culture, Mecenatpolis!!
There is such a huge compound of urban residence and cultural malls in the Mapo area, Seoul and it’s called Mecenatpolis. This is basically a luxurious apartment complex for residence and it’s also like a huge shopping mall inside. There are so many fashion stores, restaurants, cafes as well as a Lotte Cinema, Homeplus and even art centers. Can you even imagine living in this compound? It’s going to be so convenient to enjoy your urban life. Besides, Hapjeong station is connected with Mecenapolis so it is also very easy to access public transportation.
I’ve been told that many Korean celebs and public figures are living in this residency. According to those people who’re living in this place, it can enhance their life quality. And they keep insisting that Mecenatpolis is a luxurious residency brand and it’s actually very expensive to buy an apartment in here. So it can be a dream home to many people and I’m jealous of them too. However, you can still visit this place and shop your items and enjoy foods here. As for those residents, it’s just their league so it’s not my business, ha. Maybe one day it will be.
This is a shot from above and it’s very modernized and beautiful. I admit it. It would be very fantastic living in this place.
We can see many people gathering from far away. It could be like a surprise concert inside this place. This place is now like a landmark in the Mapo-gu area.
What a peaceful and modernized place it is. You can enjoy all kinds of Korean culture in here.
There are so many colorful umbrellas hanging in the air. This is always impressive whenever I see them..
There are so many must-go restaurants in here. Many office workers from nearby visit this mall during lunch hours.
And there are countless shops for ladies. You want a different place for your urban shopping? Then go visit this place and have your dream to live in this place one day. It’ll be so sweet.
Here’s some more information about this place if you’re interested in visiting here.
Address : Mecenatpolis, 45, Yanghwa-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul
Location : Near the Exit 9 of Hapjeong Station, line 2
Phone Number : 02-334-8181
Operating Hours : It depends on shops
Homepage (Korean) : http://mecenatpolismall.co.kr/ (N/A)
Shopping
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This Is Your Urban Shopping Center! Starfield COEX Mall!!
There is a huge mall in Gangnam, Seoul which is called Starfield COEX Mall and it’s like a landmark in this area. I’ve been there only a few times and whenever I visited here, I was overwhelmed by its huge size. You’ll see countless places to visit when you get there and here I'm posting up only a few of them that are very interesting such as Aquarium, Piero Showping and Byeolmadang Library. And of course they have much more than that.
COEX Mall has over 300 brands, ranging from fashion and beauty to electronics and entertainment. In that unique library, they have over 50,000 reading materials arranged in 13 meter high book shelves. In their aquarium, they have over 650 species of marine animals. This mall is connected to Samseong station, line 2 so it is very convenient to visit without driving here. Once you get here, you’ll realize that you don’t have enough time to see everything in one day.
You can get through Samseong station first to get to COEX Mall. It is connected underground to the mall.
This is the way to the entrance of COEX Aquarium. I would say that it’s more likely for young kids but it was still fun. .
Oops, the scary Jaws is waiting for us at the gate. Did you really have to show us your gums?
There wasn’t anything very special about this aquarium but I would say that it must be very educational when you bring your kids. We don’t have one yet though.
Wow, look at the size of those bookshelves. How are they going to take out the books on the top?
Piero Showping! This is the name. You’ll see extraordinary things in this shopping mall. I better post up a blog specializing this at another time.
They’re all my favorites. Play Station and Marvel collections, who would pass without looking inside?
Here’s some more information about this place if you’re interested in visiting here.
Address : 524, Bongeunsa-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Location : Near the Exit 5 of Samseong Station, line 2
Phone Number : 02-6002-5300
Operating Hours : 11:00 ~ 21:00
Aquarium Admission : KRW 28,000 (Adults) / KRW 24,000 (Children)
Homepage (Korean) : https://www.starfield.co.kr/coexmall/main.do
Shopping
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Shop your Fantasy of Electronics! Yongsan Electronics Market!!
I used to enjoy visiting this market to buy game software and purchase computer parts but not anymore since I’m getting older and busy to make a living. One of my hobbies is making my own high-end gaming desktop. Whenever I had a chance to get to this place, I was always excited to get those electronics. I would say that most guys have this kind of fantasy about electronic items, right?
Yongsan Electronics Market is a wholesale mall with over 5,000 electronic stores. You can find all kinds of electronic merchandises here. Console hardware and software, PC gaming hardware and software, all parts of a PC, digital cameras, mobile phones, home appliances like DVDs and TVs and so on, you can get anything you need as long as they’re electronics. Prices are also about 15~30% cheaper than most of other shops in Seoul.
This building is one of the oldest malls in this market which is called Sunin Sanga. You can still find a lot of items here. Most of them are parts or small pc items.
Some of shops are displaying laptops and you can buy a second-hand product at such a low price. I would rather buy a new one though.
This shop is for ASUS hardware. Look at those beautiful ASUS laptops. They provide high performance to play high-end games.
This mall is one of the most recent buildings in this place and it’s called ET Land. Most shops here have home appliances and finished products.
These are what you’re going to need when you build your own desktop. There could be a few more but these are fundamental parts to operate your computer when it’s completed.
I got some images of pretty desktops so you can customize your own fashionable desktop in your own way.
This is my own customized one. I built it myself but it’s the older one. I actually have a newer and better one now, ha. I just couldn’t find the pictures.
Here’s some more information about this place if you’re interested in visiting here to chace after your fantasies.
Address : 15-2, Hangang-ro 2(Yi)-ga, Yongsan-gu, Seoul
Location : Near the Exit 8 of Gwanghwamun Station, line 5
Phone Number : 02-707-4700
Operating Hours : 10:00 ~ 19:30 (Mon-Fri) / 10:00 ~ 20:00 (Sat-Sun)
Shopping
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You’ll Love to Buy These Worms! Larva Town!!
YouTube Credit Source : https://www.youtube.com/user/Larva2011ani
I used to love watching it before and I was able to watch it everywhere in Korea. When I took the bus, subway, even in an elevator, I could see it everywhere. It’s not very popular anymore but kids still love to watch it. It is a Korean animation series that is called ‘Larva’. Attached above is one of the episodes so you can watch it if you want. There are two main characters and one is Yellow and the other one is Red. Yes, they’re worms and they’re lovely, funny and cute worms. When you watch it, you’re going to love them. They’re very addictive.
I recently found out there’s a goods shop in Jongno, Seoul which is not very far from my place. It specializes in Larva characters and they also run their coffee shop inside. Actually they’re divided into three different themes, goods shop, photo zone in the yard, and the coffee shop. The yard is open to the public like a park so you can visit there anytime you want. You can also enjoy your coffee at the coffee shop surrounded by the lovely and funny characters.
Look. They’re funny already.
Look at those items here at the goods shop. They’re all characterized products. Sadly, they’re not very popular any more so they didn’t have that many customers there.
I really love their faces and looks. Yellow and Red are the main characters.
This is the yard that provides some figures outside and you can use them to take your pictures.
This is the coffee shop that is called Café Wingcle. They also sell ice cream and dessert kinds. Just a normal coffee shop.
Here’s some more information about this place if you’re interested in visiting here.
Address : 1, Gyeonghuigung-1gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul
Location : Near the Exit 8 of Gwanghwamun Station, line 5
Phone Number : 070-4609-6492
Admission : Free
Operating Hours : 10:00 ~ 20:00
Homepage : http://tubaani.com/
YouTube Credit : https://www.youtube.com/user/Larva2011ani
Shopping
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Korean Traditional Market, Gwangjang Market!!
Gwangjang Market is a Korean traditional street market and its old name is Dongdaemun Market. It is now one of the oldest and largest traditional markets in Korea and they say that approximately 65,000 people visit this market each day. In the beginning, they sold agricultural and seafood products but as it became bigger, they began to sell many other products such as fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, bread and etc.
Today this market is famous for its bindaetteok (Korean pancake) and mayak gimbap. Basically I like to eat Korean pancakes but this bindaetteok is so awesome. It is very delicious. I don’t think I’m going to forget that taste for a while. It’s always crowed with people there so it’s not easy to walk through the crowd all the time. Besides, many of them were introduced on TV shows in Korea so you should wait in a long line for some of them.
This is from the main entrance of the market. You can see that there are many people already from the beginning.
The path is not spacy enough getting through inside because they set up their tables on the path.
They look so yummy. They’re all Korean traditional street foods but you can see some of them on Korean big holidays.
This is the bindaetteok that I’m talking about. It is a super delicious Korean pancake.
This is the mayak gimbap. Mayak means drug in Korean so you get addicted once you taste it. It’s funny.
This is called ‘Hotteok’ and it’s a very popular street food in Korean especially during the winter season. It’s a type of filled pancake.
Below is some more information about this place if you’re interested in visiting here.
Address : 88, Changgyeonggung-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul
Location : Near the exit 7 of Jongno O-ga Station, line 1
Inquiries : 02-2267-0291
Operating Hours : 09:00 ~ 23:00
Homepage (Credit Source) : http://www.kwangjangmarket.co.kr/en/
Shopping
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How About Handmade Shoes? Seongsu-dong!!
Seongsu-dong in Seoul has been a famous place for handmade shoes and leather products for such a long time. And if you need to get your shoes repaired then you can visit this area. You can even see the history of this area when you’re on the way to the subway station. Seoul city has also designated Seongsu-dong area as The Street of Handmade Shoes. I was told that they’ve been gathered for handmade shoes since 1970s.
Since they have the history of handmade shoes, they’ve been developing this area as a landmark. It was like a project to them and now they have so many competitive shoe stores in Seongsu-dong. Now they have almost 70% of Korean manufacturers of handmade shoes gathered in this area. It is called Korean Brooklyn since they have remodeled so many warehouses for new facilities such as coffee shops, theme parks, studios and so on.
You can see them displayed on the way to Seongsu Station. I guess they’re very proud of its history. They deserve it.
You can also see some information about shoe makers. ‘Leather and thread alone cannot make shoes’, ‘From a beginner apprentice to a master craftsman’.
Is that even a real shoe? It’s supposed to be for a giant, ha. It is interesting.
It isn’t hard to find a shoe place in this area. They’re almost everywhere in the neighborhood.
This is a sign that they’re holding a street art festival. We could see that they’re trying to hold events as much as possible so lots of youngsters also pay attention. I appreciate their effort.
Below is some more information about this place.
Address : 100, Achasan-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul
Location : Seongsu Station, line 2
Inquiries : 02-465-7871
Operating Hours : 24 Hours
Homepage (Credit Source) : http://seongsushoes.or.kr/
Shopping