Namdaemun Market - must go shopping place

I have been a "tourist guide" for my friends when they visited Korea. I always welcome my friends come over to visit Korea and at the same time visit me. When they asked me what are the attractive places, I will first ask them back what the theme of visiting they would like to have, like shopping, museums visit, culture experience and etc.

Let's say shopping!
Recently my friend visited Korea and we went to Namdaemun market which has so many cheap stuff. Though it is not the first time I visit this market, it is always something new there to explore.

First, don't miss this place to take a photo with the sign of Namdaemun market. Erm... also the South Gate.

Going out from the subway HoeHyeon 회현역 exit 4 and you will see this.
Shops and lots of banners. Do not feel shocked if you see a guy wearing hat and bright color vest, he is promoting for the shopping mall he is working at. Just walk into the street and you will come to a street selling children clothes. They are selling cheap and a lot of mummies come here and buy clothes for their kids.

I believe if you have kids, you will sure not miss this place to get something for them. Things are also the latest trend too. Even I don't have kids yet, I am attracted by the kids' stuff. My friend got shoes and clothes for her kids and her friends too. Last time one of my Multiplian friend also got a lot of things here to resell back at Malaysia.

 Outside of exit 6 is the street of selling ladies' clothes.

The accessories (jewellery, hair bands, hair pins and etc) are available just opposite the tourist information center! I strongly recommend here because you can find a lot of things here - all are for wholesale only, but if you come here, try to buy more then they will give you lower price, if not, they may not sell to you.

This is the latest trend in this coming autumn and I got it here cheaply. Erm... they were in the process of making this hair band when I visited that day.

Also, you can get very cheap Korean handcraft and souvenirs very cheap in namdaemun. It is just near to exit 5 and at a orange building. Get inside and walk around 2nd floor and you will find 3 stores selling those. They sell cheaper than other shopping places in Seoul.

Next, get some food here if you are tired. Also the fruit juice store beside this store.

See how my friend enjoyed her cold noodle!

This bibim noodle is quite spicy!

More to shop and more to walk around. See carefully before you buy the things here. If possible, go with Korean friends or practise your Korean language then you can get a good price. My friend went there for the second time alone and they marked high price since she speak English and Chinese only.

Also, try to think first what you want to buy before you decide to visit this market as they are too big to walk around. We're so tired after walking only for 2 hours.

Tour Guide

My friends always ask me that whenever they come to Korea, what are the places that I will bring them to? Or what are the places that should be in their travel list? What are my suggestion of visiting Korea?

I have been staying here for 4 years, but still a lot of places I have not been visiting too. I will recommend some famous places and more familiar to me. There are some guide I will give though:

• Which season do you like? If you like winter, come in late December - Feb, then you can see the snow and also ski. If you want like autumn, come in October and November. I don't like summer here but the air ticket is cheap in summer. Come in early Apr for the cherry flower / sakura!
• What is your main purpose to visit Korea? Shopping - then set the places like MyeongDong, Dongdaemun and Namdaemun markets, and etc. If you want to shop for resell, go to Namdaemun. Explore Korea - go to the palace, Insa-dong, traditional house, folk museum and etc. To see North Korea - DMZ! ... Theme parks - Everland if you have time, Lotte World is nearer in town area.
• What do you want to eat? Korean food is mostly hot and spicy! Most of my friends tried the spicy food but sometimes it made them to visit the toilet. Prepare some pills to make your stomach feel better. In my must eat list: bulgogi, samgyepsal (bbq pork), ginseng chicken, bibimbap, kimchi stew and soybean paste stew. Most of the time if you come in tour package, you sure will try all these. Thus, I challenge you to try raw octopus 낙지, if you dare. 한정식 Korean food in one whole table - also a must eat but only if you are affordable to order one - price is counted per head.
• How about street food? Most of them are safe to eat and must try! 떡볶기 Ddokbokgi or spicy fried rice cake is spicy yet if you dare to eat, try it. They are served with fried dumpling/ yam/ vegetable/ cuttlefish/ prawns etc. Also you can find 순데 sun-dae - sausage made of bean curd and green-bean sprouts stuffed in pig intestine. I will blog it in another post for the detailed and with photos. I like rice cake a lot.
• What to buy for souvenirs? Think of whom are you going to give to? What they like to eat? Normally we buy kim or seaweed, we Malaysians and my Hong Kong friends like them so much. You can get it cheap in big mart. The snacks here are also can be a gift to the children. Most of my friends buy Korean cosmetics too. The last but not the least, kim chi! I believe kim chi is a good souvenir as you can buy in package form (for small amount), and even you want to buy more, buy the fresh made one and the mart will do the packaging for you to put in your luggage.
• Place to stay - hotels here are expensive. Because of my house is small, my friends mostly stay in hotels. They found the quite good hotels in a good price. I believe it is not a difficult matter but as I say, you must know your purpose of visiting Korea, then find the nearest hotel that is convenient to you.
• Shopping tips - learn basic Korean and other than mart, you can negotiate the prices. If you have local friends, ask them to shop with you, they know where to get the cheap and good things.

Hope it can help you to make a happy travel through this simple tips.

wise shopping for shoes

I had a bad experience to buy a shoes at subway station - 10,000 won for 1 pair of shoes. Normally some subway stations at Seoul have shops selling cheap stuff like shoes, clothes, Daiso 1000won shop and etc.

I bought one pair of shoes on 6th June 2009, at wangsimni station, after my visit to Malaysia House.

I bought this pair of open-toe shoes to welcome summer. Thus, I wore it to church on Sunday. Just one afternoon, the shoes became like this:

:(
The shoes of 10,000 won really cannot stand long! Such a bad experience.

Thus, I bought a new pair of shoes in our neighbourhood. I become wiser this time, by considering:

• price should neither be too cheap nor too expensive
• the shop provides after sales service
• the shop is trustable as it is in our neighbourhood for a period of time (Korea has a lot of temporary sales - rent a shop and sell things)
• the salesperson is kind
• comfortable to wear
• trendy and suit for both pants and skirts

Thus, I bought this gladiator sandals for my 2009 summer.

How do you think?

Anyway, it is not advisable to buy cheap shoes in subway area.