Janganpyeong Antiques Market

It’s ‘out with the old and in with the new’ in Seoul, so ever wondered what happens to all the old stuff? It ends up here, stuffed inside over a hundred small shops housed in four separate arcades of antiques. The shops are so full of old furniture, paintings, pottery and stone statues that customers can barely squeeze inside. There are more Buddhas here than in Thailand. The atmosphere is very quiet compared to the other markets, but if you love to browse through old dusty treasures – from yangban (aristocrat) pipes and horsehair hats to wooden shoes, fish-shaped locks and embroidered status ­insignia – the arcades are easy to visit. At the subway exit walk over to the orange­-tiled Samhee 6 building behind the car park. A similar arcade on the left is Samhee 5. After visiting them, walk back to Exit 2 and go left along the main road for 10 minutes to reach a brown-tiled arcade, Janganpyeong, with another section behind it. You can’t miss them with all the stonework stored permanently outside.