Shopping and Eating in Seoul

If you want to “shop ‘til you drop,” Seoul is the city for you. Seoul is expensive and one could easily empty their wallet while shopping. But there are also many inexpensive areas to shop at as well. There truly is something for everyone. Douglas and I explored a few shopping districts together, but I went to the majority of them on my own while he was at work during the week.

I passed through Shinsegae Main Department Store in the heart of the city during one of my outings. I had no plans to shop at this luxurious store; I just wanted to see what it was like. The upscale ambiance was matched with its upscale prices.

Shopping in Seoul is expensive, especially compared to Vietnam and China. This price conversion for silk scarves is $19-$44. In Vietnam you can get scarves like these for $5 to $10 on average.

One evening we visited Myeongdong. Most of the areas in Korea end in ‘dong’ because ‘dong’ loosely translates to the word ‘neighborhood.’  It is a mecca for all shoppers. There were tons of malls, outlet stores, and mom-and-pop shops that lined the side streets. They had many unique brands we had never heard of and plenty of international brands that we immediately recognized. 

These edible tubes were filed with what looked like ice cream. A lot of people were walking around eating them.

While in Myeondong we went to the theater to watch a live performance of Korea’s most popular show, Nanta. The show has traveled internationally and received rave reviews. The show depicts the story of four crazy, silly chefs who have been tasked with preparing a wedding dinner in only one hour. The show is almost all non-verbal with very few words spoken. The music and entertainment comes from their stellar movements of using pots, pans, knives, cutting boards, and various other kitchen items to make rhythmic sounds. Their unique trips and acrobatic movements had our jaws on the floor the majority of the time. This hilarious show was definitely a highlight of our trip. No photography was allowed, so you will have to catch a show to see what all the hype is about!

I went solo to visit the affluent Gangnam neighborhood, an area where those who are passionate about fashion and the latest trends frequent. I went to Garosugil Street in Sinsa-dong for 100% window shopping. Garosugil is a Korean name for “tree-lined street.” As I walked along the street there were trees that lined both sides of the promenade. It presented an ideal atmosphere for an afternoon stroll with your beau…too bad mine was busy working. Besides, Douglas would not have been interested in that area due to his disinterest in window shopping.

I am confident that every Asian country has a night market. Korea’s is the famous Dongdaemun Night Market. This shopping district contains over 30,000 street stalls to shop to your heart’s content. There was a huge selection of merchandise, all available at affordable prices. Bargaining is highly encouraged. You can find extraordinary discounts there. Dongdaemum is also unique because the stalls open around 9 pm and do not close until nearly 6 am. I am such a morning person and far from being a night owl, so I couldn’t fathom going out there in the middle of the night to shop, bargains or not. We went shortly after 9 pm and one would think the place had already been open for several hours. It was packed with people!

We also visited Korea’s oldest and largest market, Namdaemun Market. Just like Dongdaemun, the prices here were extremely reasonable. They also had quite a diverse selection of goods. We saw kitchenware, home appliances, apparel, cosmetics, produce and so much more. My favorite stalls were the sock vendors. I felt like a kid again, excited to buy all sorts of fun socks. The average price per pair was $1. You can’t beat that.

The silverware and chopsticks were actually very nice.

Fresh cut pineapple on the go? Sign me up!

We visited Insa-dong in downtown Seoul where more traditional souvenirs and antique pieces can be found. They also have lots of Korean craftwork handmade by artisans. We purchased some beautiful artwork from one of the local artist and had our names painted on the picture in Korean. I would at least like to think those were our names. Really though, the artist could have written anything. It could say “Silly Americans”…it’s not like we know the difference.

Our names being written on the artwork we purchased.

Very nice fans, but not for $16! Hanoi has us spoiled...I purchased these same fans for $2.

Hot red bean-filled muffin-type things...Douglas loved them and got another batch after the Nanta show.

Before leaving Insa-dong, we stopped for dinner at a restaurant in one of the alleys. The restaurant had a sign outside the door labeled “Good Restaurant.” We figured between the positive reading of the sign and the crowd of people inside, the place must have at least been decent. I learned a lesson that day. Never trust a sign put up by the restaurant itself and do not be fooled by a crowd of people that are mainly locals.

'Call' button at the table to request assistance

Standard food items brought out with every order just as most restaurants serve bread and butter

None of these complimentary side dishes they brought out looked good to us. Nor did they taste good.

Douglas' dish. He was not a fan of it.

My original dish.  I couldn't eat it because they mistakenly cooked it with soy sauce. I'm allergic to gluten.

My second dish was Bibimbap. It's cooked rice served with vegetables and meat. This dish came with beef which I do not eat for personal reasons. Overall the dish was very bland.

The last shopping district we passed through before leaving Seoul was Itaewon. We went there on a Friday night and no more than five minutes after we arrived it started pouring rain. Needless to say we did not stay there long, especially since most of the shops were outdoors. Even though this area is labeled as a magnet for shoppers and Seoul’s best kept secret, after all the shopping venues and districts I visited over the week everything started to blend together. I was not that invested in shopping to do any more perusing in the rain.

One of many sock stands. I got my share.

We decided to eat dinner since the rain got in our way or roaming the streets.

We stopped at a halfway decent (and absurdly expensive) Turkish restaurant in Itaewon. For the amount of money we paid I should not have been served what looked and tasted like canned vegetables. I don't do canned veggies at home, so I definitely do not want them when dining out.

We should have stayed in the rain because the food was such a disappointment. This is our salad covered with pure mayonnaise as the dressing. I could not eat it.

These french fries looked and tasted as if they were soaked in oil after being cooked. It was just awful. Though this was a turkish restaurant, it matched our feelings about Korean food in general. It leaves much to be desired. We loved the city, but could completely do without their signature food dishes.

I probably visited a quarter of the shopping areas in Seoul. There were way too many to visit them all. I also did not have a desire to spend that much money on merchandise. I like to invest more in experiences while traveling. With the dozens of shopping districts in Seoul, we found most of our necessary items at the Exchange on base. Oddly enough the Exchange was probably our best one-stop-shop experience in Seoul. That is what happens when you have been away from a military base for so long and live in a third world country where very few American items we are accustomed to are available. Sometimes the little things are all it takes to make a heart content. And mine was surely filled with joy.