Seoul's marketplaces are a mix of the traditional and the modern, and teem with garments, accessories, commodities, and kitchenware. Among the local places, the Dongdaemoon and Namdaemoon markets have grown fastest as the fashion centers, and are constantly crowded with the young buyers and sellers in search of good prices.
Dongdaemoon Market
At the heart of Dongdaemoon downtown in Seoul, a huge shopping complex has risen. A dozen new shopping skyscrapers like Doosan Tower and Milleore sit next to the cluster of traditional shopping buildings. All are crowded around-the-clock. The market is located between the subway station Chongro 5-ga and Dongdaemun on the No. 1 and 4 Lines.
Namdaemoon Market
Namdaemoon is the nation's largest traditional market comprised of 1,250 outlets in about 70 buildings. It offers a range of garments, kitchenware, appliances, food, stationery, and other imported products, about 70% of which are traded wholesale. The market is most alive between 2 a.m. to 6 a.m., abuzz with haggling between the traders and provincial bulk buyers. The market faces the Seoul railway station and is a 10-min. walk from the City Hall, next to Plaza Hotel.
E-Mart
Business hours: 9:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Tel: +82-2 3484-5123/4
Travelers can head for discount clubs like E-Mart, where the no-frills, no-ads policy has boosted the cheap prices. Offers foods, commodities, and garments. Take the Changdongyok on the Subway Line 1 and 4 to reach E-Mart.
Yongsan Electronic Complex
The complex is the mecca of the nation's computer and multimedia products, with some 5,300 outlets that lure about 100,000 persons daily. Some outlets include:
Chonja Land (Building 9)
Tel: +82-2 701-8183
Najin-Sangga (Building 17-20)
Tel: +82-2 704-3015
Products: TV sets, refrigerators, washing machines, imported audio goods, components.
Jell Delicatessen in Itaewon
Business hours: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Tel: +82-2 797-6846
Jell is popular especially among expatriates who long for the taste of home as the shop sells nearly everything you might need for a Western dish. The wine shop on the first floor is stocked with 700 different kinds of wine, while the grocery on the second floor has all sorts of vegetables, meats, sauces, cheeses, not to mention impossible-to-get coffee beans. Spices available from here include basil, rosemary, sage, thyme, and paprika. For meat lovers, Jell has duck, sausages, and lamb cuts. Jell is half-way between Itaewon and the Hyatt.
A sampling of prices: herbs-1,500 won/pack; frozen fruit 9,700-10,500 won; endives 1,950 won/100g; wine vinegar-3,700 won
Kyongdong Market
Tel: +82-2 965-1527 (a consumer protection center)
The market is lined with hundreds of Chinese health clinics and herb shops. Other items on sale include fruits and fish at prices 20% lower than in department stores. A whole building is dedicated to ginseng wholesalers, and another for health items such as honey and aloe. By taxi, the market is about 20 min. from the downtown Seoul. If you are going by rail, head for Cheki-yok on Subway Line 1.
