Day 2 in Seoul - Part 2

(Above) Shopping street in Myeongdong

Located in the heart of Seoul, Myeongdong comprises mostly of shops that deal with mid-level price as compared to Namdaemun and Dongdaemun Market which sell products at low prices. Spreading across an area of over 300,000 square meters, the Myeong-dong area is considered as one of the trendiest shopping areas in Korea. The numerous shops that are lined at both sides of this area sell readymade garments, shoes, handbags, accessories as well as cosmetics. Tourists can get all the major international brand of cosmetics like Poison, Versace and others. The clothes sold here are reputed to be of international quality. The main street in Myeongdong is lined with quality brand name shops, while mid-class brand name shops and no-name brand shops are located in the side alleys. As is standard in shopping districts, the large shopping malls like Avatar or Migliore and department stores are present as well. All kinds of shops and restaurants are densely located on the main street with lanes such that if you have an helicopter view of the whole area, it will resemble a chess board, so we have been informed that it’s advisable to explore Myeongdong shopping district using Myeongdong station as your starting point and dividing Myeongdong into a few sections – A, B , C and D and explore each section separately.

Section A will be the shops and malls along Myeongdong Street. Notable shops and malls along the street ate Migliore and U-too Zone shopping malls , Levi’s store, Bean Pole store, and a wide variety of shoe store like Geumgang Shoes store, Elkanto and Esquire Shoe Stores. After that, we can move onto section B which covers the shops located in the left side alley that are of a mid-priced range brand. Examples are Ssamzie, Club Monaco, Guess. There are also independent brand stores such as Trend 20 and others in Myeongdong Uiryu shopping mall. Section C is another side alley on the right side of Myeongdong street which comprises of a mix of established and independent brands such as Giordano and Jangbangbee. There are also restaurants and coffee houses along this stretch. After we have explored the two alleys, we will move up along Myeongdong Street until we come into Central Street. The Avatar shopping mall is located here with rows of banks, fast food restaurants and the National Souvenir Centre. After we have brisk through Central Street, we will walk down Chinese street which is like a little Chinatown where the China Embassy, Chinese traditional medicinal shops, Chinese book shops and restaurants are located and return to Myeongdong Station.

If we need any information about the area around Myeongdong, we can head for the Myeongdong Tourist Information Centres located at the intersection of the Central Street and Myeongdong Street, next to Woori Bank and another next to Avatar Shopping Mall. The staff there are fluent in English and other main foreign languages(Mandarin,Japanese) and brochures,maps and coupons are available there. It would be good for us to drop by there to see if there are any discount and good deal coupons before we commit to any buys. The Tourist Information Centres along the Central Street and Myeongdong Street are opened from 10am to 6pm from November to February and 10am to 7pm from March to October whole year round.

Along the way, we will stop at one the many cafes, whichever that catches our eyes and stomachs for a drink and snacks. For dinner, we will also take a look at the varied restaurants there. We are thinking of trying gopjang jeongol which is a spicy Korean stew comprising of boiled beef/cattle intestines, vegetables and Korean spices and will be looking for any there. Alternatively, we can also try Korean cold noodles called naengmyong. There is one naengmyong eatery recommended by Frommer’s located near Myeongdong Station exit 5. The eatery’s name is Myeongdong Hamheung Myeonok which is a casual eating house that has been around for 35 years. The noodles here are made with sweet potato and the broth is made from boiled oxtails. The excellent hwae (raw fish) naengmyeon is reported to be eye-wateringly spicy. The eatery opens from 9.30am to 10pm and prices for a basic meal starts from W6500.
Another recommended place is Myeongdong Gyoja which is supposedly the most famous knife cut noodle place in Seoul. Their spicy, gingerly kimchi can burn your lips off-and yet, you'll go back for more. Recommended dishes are their Gyoja (Dumplings), Calguksu (Knife Cut Noodles) and their Kongguksu which is a chilled soy milk noodle soup. Located near Myeongdong Station exit 5. From the exit, turn left at the first intersection (where Woori Bank is lcoated) and make a right turn next at Who.A.U. Clothing Store.

Those who are interested in a good Chinese meal of dumplings, noodles can go to a branch of the Din Tai Fung restaurant which is located at the end of Myeongdong, a block away from the Lotte department store. We will also see if we can grab a dozen donuts for supper from the famous donut store – Kispy Kreme which is located in Myeongdong 1 block away, east of Lotte Cinema.

With our hands full of shopping, snacks and stomach filled, we will take the train from Line 4 Myeongdong Station and transfer one stop away at Chungmuro Station. From there, we will hop onto Line 3 and alight at the 3rd stop which is Anguk Station and make our way back to our serviced apartment for a good night’s rest.