Day 5: Seoul Mate: Dongdaemun, Namdaemun and Myeongdong

By this time, I've become really really at home in Seoul. After a tiring day traveling from Seoul to Osan and back, we've decided to stay close to home. Market day for us! Taking pictures feel so touristy, hence photo shortage in this post. :P

First stop was Dongdaemun Market, a shopper's haven, so we thought it would be ours too. But it caters more to wholesale shoppers. Most products here like clothes, are sold in bulk and would be too expensive if you'd get just one. Cheap buys for re-sellers. We were able to buy cheaper I love Korea shirts at one of the street stalls. What I noticed here was most stall owners weren't so nice to customers. Touching their products would easily tick them off and say things that doesn't sound Korean. Which made me realize that many of them aren't locals.

To Dongdaemun Shopping Complex.

Since we set foot in Korea, we haven't seen a mall till we went to Dongdaemun. But this mall, Doota was not open until 7pm, so we missed the chance to go window shopping.

This part of Dongdaemun became my favorite. I was happy in an instant when we came across these bookstores that sell used books at bargain price. My sister was able to buy a hard bound, dual language (English and Korean) and illustrated Little Prince book for only KRW2000.

 

We also got to try street food for the first time. Didn't have time for breakfast, so at around 1PM, we were already starving. Tried this food stall at Dongdaemun. They sell tteokbokki, fish cakes and mini kimbap. Delicious, affordable and very clean too!

You'll also find the Seoul Heunginjumin or the Seoul Gate. We didn't cross the street to get closer to the gate. I don't recall why we didn't, and it sure is another reason why I should go back to Seoul: to get a closer look at the Seoul Gate. Hahah!

Front view of the gate.

Side view of the Seoul Gate.

Pedestrian crossing.

And oh! We also took our time taking photos of the Cheonggyecheon Stream. This part of the stream in Dongdaemun has a very nice pathway where locals and tourists alike can just explore.

Next stop was Namdaemun Market. We were able to buy pasalubong here, lots of pasalubong! The market was clean and organized. My sister needed to buy some trail mix nuts and dried cranberry and the sellers were really helpful and even offered taste test. I bought a box of my favorite sunflower seed coated with chocolate for only KRW12,000!

After pasalubong shopping, we headed back to our guesthouse to drop off our purchases and to clean up a little. Last place to shop was Myeongdong again. More than the stores, I really just love how busy this place is at night.

How cool is this building? ;)

I won't leave Seoul without finding ARTBOX. Most cutesy stationery I've received during my stint as an ESL teacher were from ARTBOX, so I had to see the shop for myself. I tell you, I was not disappointed with what I saw! :D

Shopping could be tiring too. So since it's our last night in Seoul, we went back to the guesthouse a little bit earlier that we usually do. Time to pack our bags and get ready for the journey home.