Dongdaemun 동대문

Normally a tourist would visit two places in Seoul: Myeongdong and Dongdaemun.

Dongdaemun is a large market place that offers EVERYTHING under the sun. The area is divided into two parts – the Retail Area (shopping malls which open from 10am to 5am), and the Wholesale Area (which opens from 8pm to 8am). So..24-HOURS OF NON-STOP SHOPPING! You’ll never get bored in Seoul! Just head down to Dongdaemun if you are suffering from insomnia

Caution: You might find, to your utmost frustration, that the cute pair of shorts you bought at the Retail Area for 30,000 won only costs 10,000 won at the Wholesale area..so shop wisely. True story (obviously this happened to me…..#&$)(#@&$#).

Dongdaemun Gate

This is part of the Cheonggyecheon (Cheonggye Stream), a man-made stream that lasts 6km and stretches through many famous districts in Seoul.

Retail Area of Dongdaemun.

Walk into malls like Hello APM, Migliore, and Doota and shop your life away.

Remember to BARGAIN. The stall owners will definitely mark-up prices if they know you’re a tourist.

Please do not call these aunties manning the street food stalls ‘ahjumma’.

Just don’t. I don’t think they like it very much.

Dongdaemun Gate at night.

Dongdaemun COMES ALIVE after 10pm!!! OMG. Non-stop shopping throughout the night!!!

This was taken at 3 a.m. in the morning. How insane.

South Korea is very famous for their celebrity pop culture, so there are always dance battles going on in Dongdaemun.

Venture into the Wholesale Area after 10pm! Lots of great bargains!!

Near 4 a.m. at the Wholesale Area’s night market.

NIGHT LIFE IN KOREA WINS.

Mega-yummy ice-cream for only 1,000 won. I had so many of these in Korea.

There was one time I ate 4 cones at one shot in Dongdaemun..the uncle totally laughed at me (cause I tried all the flavours available wahahaha).

The Wholesale Area is the homeground for aspiring Korean designers..lots of nice designs can be found in the wholesale malls.

Andd ooh, saw this Korean dude with a SUPER ADORABLE BABY JAPANESE SPITZ!! He dyed the puppy’s cheeks pink!

The baby Spitz was super cute, but I was quite irritated at how he forced the blue glasses onto the clearly uncomfortable puppy. The Korean guy just paraded around the mall with the puppy so that the girls will squeal at him (or rather, at the dog). Douchebag. I see right through his agenda.

*Judgemental*