SEOUL, IN PETER’S WORDS · Neighborhoods
Myeongdong and Namdaemun: the yin and yang of Seoul
Two shopping streets. Two very different kinds of bustle.
Peter N. Liptak · Original guidebook essay, with dated editorial updates
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THE ORIGINAL ESSAY
The Myeongdong shopping district bursts with youth and beauty. Throngs of slender girls stroll the lanes of boutiques wearing the latest fashion and adorned with the cutest of accessories. Day and night, the flashy streets burn bright with neon light decorated with the gleaming signs of topnotch brands and cosmetics shops.
On the other hand (and just to the side), Namdaemun is a Mecca of cheap shopping. This bargain hunter’s paradise is restless and unruly. The market swarms with street vendors in odd attire shouting to draw the attention of customers and middle-aged women walking briskly with rectangular tin trays of dishes piled on their head.
Myeongdong and Namdaemun are the first face of Seoul for most foreigners. Situated beside each other and ever filled with foot traffic, their similarities end there, differing in nearly every other aspect: street atmosphere, the clothes people wear, etc.
Myeongdong is the best place to gauge Korea’s future fashion trends. Everything worn by Bae Yongjun, Gwon Sangu, Jeon Jihyeon, and other Hallyu (Korean wave) stars, hugely popular in East Asia, can be found here. With places that sell affordable but sophisticated styles, Myeongdong has all that is needed to fulfill any woman’s desire. Korea’s total beauty care industry is growing exponentially and much of it starts right here.
Namdaemun is only one subway station (or a brief walk) away but world’s away in terms of sentiment. A Korean-style traditional market near Namdaemun gate, it deals in cheap clothing, glasses, cameras, accessories, import food, tableware, mountain-climbing equipment, and other merchandise.
The market also offers cheap but delicious food: gimbap, noodles, jeon (a Korean pancake) and other Korean snacks are available throughout the market. Though it is not as big as the Dongdaemun market, you can look around the marketplace in a relatively short time. The biggest joy of exploring here is watching the merchants as they labor from dawn to dusk to marvel at the energy of their spirited execution of duties.
From Peter’s supplied Seoul guidebook introduction, chapter 18. Original observations and historical framing are retained. PDF line-break and spacing repairs are recorded separately from factual updates. Guidebook photography and venue directories are not republished.
TAKE THE LANGUAGE WITH YOU
A city is a conversation, too.
Follow a related expression into its illustrated meaning and bilingual scene. These are informal book-sourced expressions, not a script to use with every stranger or service worker.
뽕빼다get your money’s worthRead the book-sourced scene →Keep the whole conversation.
Keep the illustrated expressions, bilingual conversations and cultural notes together in As Much as a Rat’s Tail.
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