Seoul – Shopping Districts & Cheonggyecheon Stream

Here are the compilation of shopping districts in Seoul. I’m gonna keep it short and simple. The first stop is Dongdaemun. A haven for fashion forward shopaholics. A tourist spot for late night shopping. You can do so by alighting at Dongdaemun station, Exit 6

Maxtyle; one of the mall. Apparently look new but mostly first 3 levels are occupied by tenant. The rest of the level are mostly vacant.

Most of the tenants sells female fashion clothing. For 10,000KRW, you can actually get good stuff here!

Winter boots!! There a quite number of shop selling footwear. In fact, the area is famous for selling footwear. Sport shoes, boots you named it! To do so use exit 5 at Dongdaemun station.

Pizza Plus. A halal restaurant selling kebab, burgers and pizza. Use exit 5 at Dongdaemun and walk straight and keep a look out at the Pizza Plus sign.

Walk further and keep a look out for Cheonggyecheon Stream. Neglected in 1970 until it was restored in 2005, becoming a haven of natural beauty amidst the bustle of city life. I almost miss the place because it was situated the middle of two highways and which is  5 or 10 meters below. I stumble upon white snow like sculpture from the top and i’m really excited to hear the sound of the stream!

(Right) The snow sculpture i stumble upon. Cheonggyecheon stream used to be one of Seoul’s biggest slum areas. Now look at what modern development turn this area into. The stream was covered with an elevated highway. I didn’t really walk the whole stretch of 11 km runs through downtown Seoul due to the chilly weather.

A closer look. My analogy: there’s a possibility it was caused by the frozen fountain.

Nearby the area is Pyounghwa Clothing Market. Take it as a landmark to visit here.

Myeongdong. It is the center for shopping haven. There is a mixture of street stalls which opens at night and retail outlets selling everything from high fashion to casual attire as well as many Korean cosmetics stores offering high-quality products at competitive prices.

H&M, Zara some of the well known establish stores here. Not forgetting Myeongdong cinema. At Myeonngdong station, use exit 5

Winter head wear sold at the night market. Usually most of the items sold here are similar to other night market in Dongdaemun, Iteawon and Namdaemun. However I do feel that the cheaper ones are usually at Namdaemun which I will introduce later on.

I find that its is difficult to haggle the prices here at Myeongdong night market. They will give one kind of look “who do you think you are” or just ignore.

Some of the snacks not to be missed!

A mascot carrying advertisement

While Myeongdong cater for the young and upscale, Namdaemun is more towards for the middle age group of women to shop! Prices here are relatively cheaper. For eg. I can haggle army jockey cap for 10000KRW instead of 12000KRW or 15000KRW at Myeongdong. At Heohyeon station, use exit 5.

By 9pm, the place is a bit deserted. Most of the shops here closed by 9.30 or earlier.

Selling most of the KPOP craze here. To be honest, I’m not a fan of KPOP :)

 Related articles: Arrival & Chungbu Market | Gyeongbokgung  | N Seoul Tower | Nami Island | Changdeokgung & Changgyeonggung | Lotte World & Coex | Hello Kitty Cafe & Teddy Bear Museum | Iteawon & Seoul Central Mosque | Seoul Gallery