Annyeonghaseyo Korea : Day 6 - Namdaemun Market

ii) Namdaemun Market


Continued on my previous post from Myeongdong, I headed towards Namdaemun Market which is located at Hoehyeon, just a step away from Myeongdong. You may either cross the super-busy road or opt to walk down the subway line.

We made a stop here and there on the way to Namdaemun, took photo at anythings that we found attractive to us. This would be the time where we could experience the hectic lifestyle of Seoul city

In front of the Post Office.

I don't know what were these, but the shape was really interesting

The subway to cross the road was behind my back

Such a very busy street. What do you expect when you were right at the centre of the city right?

Sculpture


Namdaemun Market is the oldest and largest traditional market in Korea and it is well-known for its friendly store-owners and reasonable prices. Besides the children's clothings which the market is most well-known for, you can also find a huge variety of local products at wholesale prices. 

Business Hour

Do note that the market is closed on Sundays and also during Lunar New Year and Chuseok, and their operating hours are from 9am to 5pm (apparel stores are also open at night from 10pm to 5am).

Here are some shots of the place.

We randomly walked into a food alley, which all the stalls selling varieties type of foods!

This is the place where your bargain skill is highly demanded! However language barrier had limit us a bit to negotiate on the price.

Nevertheless, we managed to purchase sweater at a very reasonable price around RM15/piece!!

As it was already end of the eyar, and Christmas was around the corner... Lots of Christmas decoration were available here


We had it enough exploring and shopping at Namdaemun, so it's about time to cross the road and back to Myeongdong street. But before that, we took picture at this unique twin building. Can you see a group of bird lining on the electrical wire there. Beautifull....

As it was almost dusk, around 5pm all the lights were switched on and look at that... The city suddenly illuminated with lights and made it appeared more wonderfull and interesting.

The subway was a bit deserted that time but safe

We emerged here from the subway, back to the hectic and lively city


We supposed to gather back with our group here. The temperature dropped and we were freezing, luckily we waited not so long and then we saw Vincent and the rest of our group members, heavily laden with their shopping items.

Goodbye Myeongdong & Namdaemun!! I really had my good time here!!

Annyeonghaseyo Korea : Day 6 - Myeong-dong, Shop Till You Drop!

One day left before our last day at Seoul. What was the best activity to do in this final itinerary rather than shopping right? As ussual, we left hotel around 8am and headed to Itaewon for breakfast first.

As mentioned in my previous post, Itaewon is home to the majority of expats in Korea which creates a community of diverse nationality from all over the world. Hence, many restaurants serving international dishes are in this area.

We had our breakfast at this restaurant. The name of this restaurant tells it all right?

It was a middle east restaurant, which explained this Egyptian statue as a decoration

Among the buffet dishes


The food overall was ok. I'm not very fussy in term of food which quite helps in case of travel. As long as it Halal and save me from starving, that's all matter. Lucky me :=)

Diam2 Siti Sarah benti nyanyi and bukak restoran kat sini rupanya :=D

There are also mart selling national foods where you can find spices and cooking ingredients from other country (expecially Indian and Arabic foods)


So once full, everybody was excited and can't wait for next activity, expecially the women and ladies... make sure your wallet is full enough, or your Credit Card already activated for oversea usage. This was the time where I finally spent my Won fully.... :=D



i) Myeongdong, Seoul

Here comes Myeongdong, the most popular & trendiest shopping district! This place is a total heaven of skin care & make up (Skinfood, Missha, Banila Co., Innisfree, Laneige, Nature Republic etc.) Who don't want to look beautiful like the Koreans right? This place is energetic, lively, fun, bright, colorfull & fast! Besides shopping, Myeongdong is also a heaven of street food.

HOW TO GO:
Myeong-dong Station (Seoul Subway Line 4), Exit 6. OR;
Euljiro 1-ga Station (Seoul Subway Line 2), Exit 5.


Lets take a look but watch-out!!! As this street is very busy, everybody normally walk very fast and you will be likely to be pushed away if you block their way! Yes, this is one of the hardest things to get used to in South Korea, the lack of personal space. It’s a regular occurrence to be bumped into, sometimes hard enough to hurt, on the sidewalk or in the subway. The perpetrator is usually, but not always, older and female (Ahjuma). It was just something Koreans do, so not to take it personally. Just smile or follow their style, push them also a bit. Heheheheh.

Crossed the road

We had been welcomed with lots of promotion/discount that definitely attracted our attention. Such a good marketing strategy.

Yes, regarding Myeongdong. The first thing that anyone should know about it is so packed and can be quite confusing. They have 3 different lanes, with the middle one being the most crowded. It is also the one with the most food, though there are multiple repetition here and there. Next, there are plenty of beauty shops around here. Heck, there's more than 5 Etude House, 3 Natures Republic and I don't know what else. They pretty much have one every corner. Go in to one, purchase your stuff and walk another 100 meters, there's another. Impressive right? They also like to bribe you to enter their shop. Don't feel obligated but do take the free sample. It ranges from masks to cream, though most of the time they actually hand you masks. Simple take and walk in the shop, walk one round and come out - repeat and profit! Mathematically, I could get up to 20 masks, just by entering shops and not purchasing anything!

Now if you do purchase here, then remember to ask for more sample. The more you spend, the more sample they give. But in my case, I just spent about 3000won (Approx RM10) one shop, but getting sample more than 2 for each shop I visited (one for entering the shop, another one for purchasing their product). Clever huh!!

So yes ladies and gentlemen, if you do enjoy shopping for masks and what not, this is definitely the place. Korean afterall famous for its beauty product and who knows, you can also looks beauty like Korean!

Like I said, not only ladies who want to look beautifull nowadays..


More and more beauty stuffs. What amazed me that the packaging of the products are so attractive and cute. You might just want to buy it because it looks cute and unique, not because of it content. Brilliant marketing strategy!

There are also theme for each products, like for children, teenagers, gothics, etc. Imagined, there got beauty product for school! Pergi sekolah pun boleh melawa!! yet, again the packaging impressed me.

You can also visit the Lotte Duty Free Shop, located at the 1 Lotte Department Store (9th, 10th, 11th floors). Myeongdong’s lotte store is the best and biggest by far, with a full range of luxury retailers, cosmetics and accessories. If you plan to buy facial & make up product, this is the place to go. The price here is definitely lower than in the shops along the Myeongdong streets, however there will be no free gift. Your choice. :=P Remember to bring your passport to get the duty free price, & be prepared to fight the long queue when you pay!


More photos of the shop here.

Continued to survey the shops and collected free samples!

Literally, shopped till I dropped.


To conclude all, Myeongdong is a must-visit place for all shopaholics. Myeongdong is everything I thought Seoul will be, it has everything I need. I'm normally not into shopping everytime I travel, but this was exceptional. I totally went crazy shopping here; plenty of sales & a lot of freebies, totally irresistible. A true heaven for both shopaholics & foodie!

Besides Myeongsing, another famous shopping area in Seoul is Namdaemun market. It is located nearby the Myengdong, so that was my next destination. More in my next post.