In the land of serious shopping

Let’s say I can claim a certain degree of dedication to the sport.

Each building is a separate entity in the space-age shopping hub that is Dongdaemun, a neighborhood in Seoul that I happen to reside in at times (and not always for the purposes of retail therapy – my gramma’s house is located dangerously close). Each nifty building houses 9 floors, and, seriously, every floor is shopping!

a bit of post-space-age shopping

So what? Not impressed? What if I told you that I took this photo coming home from one of my shows at 2am? That the department stores in Dongdaemun never close? That, in addition to the 24hours of nonstop shopping that is a monument to retail democracy, those low yellow roofs on the right side of the photo are actually outdoor stalls they set up for night shoppers on the weekend? It’s true. Kids, couples, families going for jags of wee-hour shopping indoors or out, because that’s what you do at 3 o’clock in the morning in Korea, and indeed! There they were, as chipper as shoppers milling about on a Sunday afternoon.

Inside, you don’t find stuff like at department stores with big brands, but stalls of small and sometimes underground labels that come out with some lovely and odd pieces of habidashery and accessories. There’s also the really well-made brand knock-offs and such, but there’s much too much else to look at that’s original. Let’s just say I got a couple of brand new things, ok?

I like me a retail monument to democracy any time of day or night