Shopping in Seoul
-
A
Namdaemun Market
You could spend all day in this awesome night-and-day market and not see it at all. Each section has hundreds of stalls. The market specialises in cheaper-range clothing and accessories for all ages and styles, but you can find anything under the sun here – from food and flowers to spectacles and seaweed. The seaweed may be natural or factory-made, and these days can be flavoured with wasabi, kimchi, green tea or even chocolate. Different sections of the market have different opening hours – wholesalers are open all night and many shops open on Sunday. Alpha has two floors of toys and two floors of stationery. Samho has a jaw-dropping amount of fashion jewellery sprea…
reviewed
-
B
Gyeongdong Market
You could spend hours exploring the biggest and best Asian medicine market in Korea. All the leaves, herbs, roots, flowers and mushrooms piled up in the shops and stalls are medicinal. Bark is sold to be made into soup, and jine is a long millipede that is boiled to make a soup or else eaten dry – it is said to be good for backaches, and a handful costs W12,000. Hwang-gi is a white root that is mixed with rice and is supposed to prevent sweating. Omija, both dried and undried, are tiny red berries that are soaked in boiling water overnight to produce a delicious ‘five flavour’ tea. Rose petals and chrysanthemum flowers are also made into tea. The tiny dried nashis are p…
reviewed
-
C
Dongdaemun Market
Where to begin in this colossal market? Many shoppers start at Doota Mall, a leading fashion icon full to the brim with domestic brands. Besides floors dedicated to adult clothing, it has a floor of accessory shops, a bag and shoes floor, a children’s floor, a brand-name floor and a food-court floor. Migliore Mall is another fashion mall next door. Others in this area also have cinemas and saunas. The multistorey Dongdaemun Shopping Complex has an unbelievable range of fabrics and trimmings of every conceivable kind. Other parts of the market specialise in shoes, pets (some are shockingly overcrowded in their cages) and street stalls. Soccer shirts are in the Euljiro un…
reviewed
-
D
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 …
reviewed
-
E
Yongsan Electronics Market
If it plugs in you can find it at this geeky universe of high-tech marvels. Computer prices are usually marked but prices on other goods are lacking, so do what the locals do – check out the prices on the web before arriving. Leave the train station plaza via Exit 3, turn right, then right again and walk through the pedestrian overpass to enter the first building of Yongsan Electronics Town on the 3rd floor. Go down a floor to the popular Mac store, and near there another pedestrian overpass goes to the countless shops that line both sides of the main street.
reviewed
-
F
Free Market
A girl in ripped jeans selling her own hand-painted cigarette lighters; a Korean James Blunt sound-alike crooning into a microphone in front of adoring fans; hand-painted bottle tops, hand-painted suitcases, hand-painted everything; hairpins that look like fruit salad, wallets made of goat leather; a caricaturist, a knitter – all these can be found in this market, where stalls can be hired for W10,000. A similar Hope Market runs here on Sunday afternoons, but it’s smaller and has no live music.
reviewed
-
G
Ahyeon-Dong Wedding Street
The one-off designer dresses in the shop windows provide an amazing fashion show with plenty of revealing insights into Korean ideas of glamour. Glide down the aisle in billowing white embroidered lace, shimmer in a tight-fitting lilac gown glittering with thousands of sparkly sequins, or tango at the reception in a red Spanish-themed outfit with a sash. Local designers let their rococo imagination run riot here – if you loved Project Runway this street of dreams is for you.
reviewed
-
H
Noryangjin Fish Market
Every kind of aquatic life form swims around in tanks and bowls in this old-fashioned, covered market. Crabs, rays, tuna and shellfish are on display along with more exotic species such as sea cucumbers and sea squirts. The orange one is called meongge – we don’t recommend trying it. Take-away platters of raw fish sell for W10,000, while giant prawns cost W15,000 a kilo. After exiting the subway station, turn right, and cross the railway tracks on the pedestrian bridge.
reviewed
-
I
Techno Mart
Electronic gear takes up seven floors of this high-rise next to Gangbyeon station. It’s less overwhelming than Yongsan Electronics Market but you still have to check prices before you go, as many items have no price stickers. Mobile phones and computers are towards the top of the building. In the entry level basement is a fun food court and a fashion mall, while a supermarket is another level down. Up on the 10th floor is a cinema multiplex.
reviewed
-
J
Seoul Folk Flea Market
Relocated to a new two-storey building that already looks worn, the 1st-floor stalls at the back have a fascinating collection of artworks, collectables and general bric-a-brac. You could root through this lot for hours hunting for hidden treasures – wooden masks and ink drawings, vintage golf clubs, battered trumpets, elephant-shaped teapots, Beatles LPs, valve radio… Follow the signs from the subway station exit, it’s only a few minutes’ walk.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
Galleria
If you want to play Audrey Hepburn staring wistfully into Tiffany’s, don a Helen Kaminski hat, try on a Stella McCartney dress or slip into a pair of Jimmy Choos; the east wing of fashion icon Galleria is the place to be. Dozens of top fashion-designer stores are packed into the two Galleria buildings, the west wing of which is covered in plastic discs that turn psychedelic at night.
reviewed
-
K
Baekkotnarae 5-Gil
From the subway, walk down this narrow street off the main road to Ewha Womans University, and it’s surprising what you can find: a Vietnamese noodle restaurant, a tailor shop, a bubble tea café, a shop selling handmade jewellery, a chocolatier, a piercing and henna shop, a leather workshop, a tattoo and hair-braiding parlour, and a Goth and punk boutique – and that’s all in the first 30 metres!
reviewed
-
L
Lotte Department Store
Four classy Lotte stores are linked together along this Myeong-dong street – the department store, Lotte Young Plaza, Lotte Avenuel and a duty-free shop – and the complex includes a multiplex cinema, food court, hotel and restaurants. It’s impossible not to get lost inside this busy retail beehive of brands but it’s an experience not to be missed.
reviewed
-
M
Kukjae Embroidery
This shop (and other branches nearby) has some of the most exquisite embroidery you will ever see. The owner, Mrs Kim Chang-O, is a legend who has exhibited all over the place, and examples of her designs have been official gifts given by Korean presidents to foreign presidents. That’s the embroidery equivalent of winning an Oscar and an Olympic gold medal at the same time.
reviewed
-
N
Queen Liz
Ladies can buy a drink in this beauty café with violet velour armchairs, and then use all their make-up and cosmetics for free. If it all goes wrong you can pay for a professional make-up by Lee Eun-im who trained in France and speaks English. A finger package - nail care and colouring plus a finger massage - is worth the cost. It's on the 4th floor above US 66 bar.
reviewed
-
O
Aland
Not sure what the concept is here – expensive designer clothing is mixed in among vintage and garage-sale items and decorations that include old broken radios and used paint pots. It’s hard to tell what’s for sale and what’s part of the decor. One fitting room is a battered old cupboard. The music is good and the whole store is so unusual that it’s worth a visit.
reviewed
-
P
Lush
Lush cosmetics chain has been making a splash, setting up all over Seoul as well as around the world. It sells unpackaged but expensive soap cut off in big chunks as if it was cheese, and all the cosmetics are natural and handmade. Many look more like desserts than cosmetics. Some have novelty, if not bizarre, names such as ‘Sonic Death Monkey Shower Gel’.
reviewed
-
Hongdae Artists' Saturday Market
With its hair-braiding stalls, tarot-card readers, handmade jewellery, hand-painted hats and T-shirts, appliqué bags, fans with a political message and soap made from rice and honey, this small Saturday market in the park outside Hongik University has a '60s Woodstock feel. Singers and pasty-faced magicians put on shows in the entertainment corner.
reviewed
-
Q
Seoul Selection Bookshop
Run by Hank Kim, this is the friendliest place to buy English books on Korean culture along with Korean CDs and DVDs. Staff can advise on which DVDs to buy - or you can hire them. Coffee, second-hand books and free Internet access are available too. Every Saturday morning they screen a Korean DVD with English subtitles. See the website for 'what's on'.
reviewed
-
R
Boon the Shop
This slimmed-down version of Galleria has stairways and balconies around an atrium courtyard, providing a chic atmosphere as you browse lesser-known brand-name stores. Don’t even think about taking a photograph – shopkeepers will think you’re trying to copy their designs (styles appear in Apgujeong and a few days later they’re out in Dongdaemun).
reviewed
Advertisement
-
S
Filipino Sunday Market
Join the jolly Filipino community in Seoul who gather in this lively Little Manila every Sunday to meet, chat and eat Filipino food. Street stalls sell tropical treats such as coconut drinks, cassava cakes, fried bananas on a stick, adobo chicken and longaniza sausage. Call-back telephone cards are also on sale.
reviewed
-
T
Beautiful Store
One of a pioneering and expanding chain of secondhand shops that raise money for charities in Korea and abroad. Beautiful Store has introduced the joys of op-shopping to Seoul with CDs, shoes and clothes that all sell for W3000. Find it halfway up the stairs of subway Exit 4. Another branch is near Bongeunsa.
reviewed
-
U
Sabee
A unique Insadong store, this is the only outlet for traditional hanbok -style clothes for men and women. The orange colour comes from a special Korean technique of using persimmon dye that uses all parts of the tree – flowers, bark, leaves and seeds. This designer clothing doesn’t come cheap – W280,000 is the minimum.
reviewed
-
Rodeo Street
Rodeo Street has piercing shops, ‘now’ items, the latest local eco-chic natural look and enough brand-name stores to make a walk along it worthwhile. But don’t expect too much – Apgujeong’s fashion shops are spread over a wide area, and there are lots of ordinary, everyday stores in between.
reviewed
-
V
Ssamzie
This four-storey complex built around a courtyard is a popular stop for one-off clothing, accessories or household goods. A bag that looks like a shirt or a shirt that looks like a bag – that’s the sort of thing you can find here. Impulse shoppers who usually regret their purchases should keep well away.
reviewed
