한국 쇼핑 쇼핑 쇼핑! Shopping in Korea! Let’s Go! (2nd Story)

여러분 안녕하세요!! Hello everybody!! Shout with Me: EXAMS ARE OVER!!! YAY *throw confetti!!!*

Haha as you can see; this post will mainly be on Shopping Shopping &… more shopping!! So before I start on day two, there is a few korean phrases you must know before you start rushing into the stores!! In Korea, Korean “한국어” (han-guk-eo) is their first language and so, you will definitely need to learn some basic korean, or else there will be a communication breakdown. Thanks to our Korean tour guide and Joyelle who taught me some lines, I could bargain my way through~. Since I am still in the very beginner’s stage trying to master Korean I hope I can improve through these blog posts!^^

First: How much is this? 이거 얼마에요? (i-geo-eol-ma-eyo)
Second: It is very expensive! 이거 너무 비싸요! (i-geo-bi-ssa-yo) *say it in a dramatic way~!*ㅋㅋㅋ
Third: Please give me a discount! 좀깎아 주세요! (chom-gga-gga-ju-sae-yo)
And of course when the transaction is done, do smile and say thank you 정말 감사합니다! (jeong-mal-gamsahamnida). 정말 means truly so it adds a touch of politeness.

Are you ready? Let’s go! Okay first stop of day 2~ brunch of course^^! We had Korean steamboat and BBQ! We ate till 2 metres full *seriously*! Haha. Two persons to a big pot of vegetables, meat, side dishes~ rice! 

After our heavy lunch, we went to see the Cheong Gye Cheon Restoration. It is a stream running through central Seoul from west to east. During the Joseon Dynasty, housewives gathered at the stream to do laundry, while their children played together. Around 1760, major renovations were carried out along the stream. This, the Cheong Gye Cheon developed the appearance that we see today.

As you can see below we were wearing the 501 shirt! What does it represent? SS501 of course!^^Haha the handsome 오빠 (he is very against us calling him아저씨!) beside us is Vincent, our very helpful Korean tour guide and the pretty lady is Maggie, our Singapore tour guide! They are very funny people who were so worried initially for the both of us who were the youngest in the Free & Easy tour because my Mummy 千交代萬交代 that I am very blur. Haha but in the end, they were totally taken by surprise how we were able to take good care of ourselves!

Next stop will be shopping at the Coex Mall!! To be honest, there’s isn’t much shopping to be done here and you definitely wouldn’t be able to bargain in the departmental stores. Haha but for those who wants to buy CDs/ DVDs especially Korean Albums, coex is one place where you can get the latest album! There’s a huge CD store located at the basement; where the helpful storekeepers will gladly help you search for the album that you’re looking for! But! There’s one pastries and coffee place that I must definitely recommend and that will be non other than the Paris Croissant. They serves exceptionally pastries and one of our 언니 really loves the blueberry tart there; so much so that she specially went back there again for another taste of heaven~ haha. Also, they serve aromatic coffee which will leave you wanting for more.

After satisfying our tastebuds, we headed towards Dongdaemun (동대문); Korea’s Shopping Heaven~! 천국~ (cheon-guk) Haha i love this two words:’) Dongdaemun, the East Gate of old Seoul, has been a popular shopping location for nearly a century. Basically there are many malls in this area. You can just spend days here! It is currently known for its all-night fashion shopping. It was designated as a Special Tourism District in 2002 and is one of the must-see places when visiting Seoul. There are many wholesale and retail fashion outlets malls here; mainly the Doota, Migliore, Good Morning City etc etc. There’s one thing about these malls. They take turns to have their seasons break. What does that mean? It means the particular mall (yes, the whole building) will be on hiatus for 4 days to 1 week. Doota, my favourite mall during the past two visits to Korea was sadly closed when i visited Korea last August but thankfully Migliore is awesome too! I SHOP AND SHOP AND SHOP HAHA! 

These malls are designated in a way such that every floor sells different categories of apparels and accessories from the basement floorth to the top! From ladies’ apparels, to gentlemen’s apparels, to pretty accessories, to shoes and more more more^^. Do you understand why i say you can shop all day and night and even days here now? Haha! Furthermore, new designs come in almost every two weeks. So ladies especially, if you want to stay on the top of the fashion world, you need to be THERE at Dongdaemun.

Ok a little info on how to get there! Take the Seoul Metro and alight at Dongdaemun History & Culture Park station.

• Line 2: Exit #14: Walk straight out of the exit towards Dongdaemun
• Line 4 & 5: Take exit #14 of Line 2 and tada~! You’re in the fashion heaven.

After spending our entire afternoon at Dongdaemun; our dinner for the night? ^^ We had Korean 자장면 (jajangmyeon) also known as black bean noodles. It was first created in the city of Incheon where early chinese migrants to Korea began to settle in Korea under Japanese rule. It is present on the menus of almost every Korean and Chinese restaurants in Korea. It is a rather simple dish but full of flavour~ Of course it taste even better when you add on the chilli powder. ( Hyun Joong loves to free flow the chilli powder~ Haha! To make his money worth while! Silly boy!) So, this is a MUST TRY. It taste different from chinese 炸醬麵! 

Dinner’s over and it’s time for more shopping! Let me post a night shot I took at Dongdaemun^^ You will be able to see the roller coaster ( ok, not exactly a roller coaster) but this round round thing that NickKhun & Victoria took in We Got Married! Haha I really really wanted to try! HAHA.

Anyway, for day two, we headed towards Lotte Mart instead of staying on in Dongdaemun. Lotte Mart is like a giant supermarket with everything! This is the place where you can get your food supplies back home, home appliances. Basically, all the barang barangs and… You can claim back your tax directly!^^ Firstly to get there, take the subway Line 1 or 4 to Seoul Station and exit through exit #1! There! Simple as that!

The bread, fruits there are very fresh and yummy and how i love the toilet bowl seat covers! I regret not buying one back! They are soooooo cute! What will I recommend buying at Lotte Mart? It is none other than Market O Brownies! They are so good!

and and there are your beauty stations conveniently available in Lotte Mart like… The FaceShop!! Haha I admit taking this photo only because of Hyun Joong! 

Okay^^ Till then, I shall end here!! Look forward to the 3rd Story!! ^^ 

Allie 앨리