Window Shopping at Myeongdong and Ewha university – Day 15 in South Korea

It is said that the cheapest places to go shopping in Korea are the area nearby the universities as the items are catered to a student's budget. Thus for our third day, we decided to visit one of Seoul's most prestigious university which is not only famous for its quality education, but also as a shopping haven for women.

A look of Seoul's rapid trains

Before we checked out some of the stores in this strip, I found a restaurant near Ewha U's entrance that offers jjimdalk. The one that was sold in this joint tasted different from the one we had in Gyeonju - the latter having more of the authentic taste I guess, I couldn't compare to how it actually taste with the ones being sold in Andong. Though it was still a nice feeling to have jjimdak as I can say this was one of my favorite Korean food!!

Jjimdak is a spicy dish that originated in Andong, Gyeongsangbukdo. The main ingredients of the dish are soy sauce, broiled chicken, vegetables (mainly potatoes and carrots) and vermicelli noodles. For Filipinos, think of it as something that looks like adobo without the peppercorns but more spicier. The soup is just perfect for the weather and the ingredients all-together makes a wonderful combination that is sure to give you energy for a whole day of walking around and shopping. The one that we ate ranged from 10,000-12,000 won and can be shared by two.

The irresistible jjimdalk :D

After our lunch, we strolled around the area to find nice bargains. Apologies for the lack of pictures as I didn't know how to make time for taking pictures as I was sooo busy window shopping. LOL

As usual, the area was full of cosmetic shops (which you can see EVERYWHERE btw especially in Seoul), a lot of shops are catered to women's clothing, shoes and accessories though at the farther part (near Sinchon station) you could also find some bags and shoes for men.

Ewha university's shopping district

After agreeing that me and my friend did not have enough money to buy anything, we decided to go to, of all places to go when you're broke, *insert drumrolls* Myeongdeong - how smart of us. LOL. Filipinos are just addicted to souvenir shopping for their friends and family even though budget is very restricted and I guess the two of us both are no exemption to this.

A look of how train stations of Seoul looks like

After alighting at the station, we went to Myeongdong Cathedral to at least catch a quick mass or say our prayers as we haven't had the chance to go to church for the rest of the trip. When we arrived though, there was currently a wedding being held so we were not able to go inside.

Myeongdong Cathedral is South Korea's main Catholic church built in 1894 and is also one of the city's famous landmarks.

Myeongdong Cathedral

Located at the heart of Seoul, Myeongdong is Korea's shopping paradise and is always included at majority of the travelers' must-go-to list within Seoul. The place has International famous shops like H&M, Forever 21, Uniqlo, and of course, Korean brands as well. Stores that specializes on cosmetics are dime a dozen here (like any place in Seoul I guess). Nature Republic, Etude House, The Face Shop are almost in every street and offers lots of free samples so it wouldn't hurt if you go inside one of the shops and get lots of face masks without even buying anything. Teehee :). There are also various of restaurants and stalls that specializes on different cuisines and street food so you don't really have an excuse of leaving here on an empty stomach.

my friend fan-girling on Jang Geun Suk's pictures in Nature Republic

Compared to Ewha, Myeongdong is definitely more crowded and busier. There are lots of shops that sell the same items here so I wouldn't recommend going in at every cute shop that you see since technically, the price difference is just minimal.

streets of Myeongdong

One fun thing to try in Myeongdong is eat this very tall ice cream approximately 32 centimeters.  We went there in Autumn and yes, it was freakin' cold but me and my friend both love cold desserts so I didn't even have to convince her to try this. It tastes a bit stale and was not that sweet but the experience of seeing people's reaction when we were walking around eating the ice cream was a bit funny. Lots of shocked faces - "What the hell were they thinking eating such cold food in this freezing weather!" but majority of the people I heard, mostly Koreans, were envious and wanted to eat an ice cream too when they saw us (so we were effective as advertisers, huh?)

the famous 32cm ice cream of Myeongdong!

We decided to explore the underground markets after we felt that we could not buy anything on the stores in the streets. It looked like an entrance to a subway station so I'm actually quite surprised that we stumbled upon a long strip of shops. There are three different underground markets near the area which are Myeongdong, Sogong and Hoehyeon Underground Market. I could say that the price of shoes and clothes are somewhat the same from what you see on the stores in Hongdae or Ewha but the souvenirs here are cheaper.

Myeongdong Underground Market

how the market looks like inside

If you were also wondering where you could buy K-Pop merchandise in Korea, then Myeongdong is the answer for all your fan-girling needs! I'd recommend the underground markets also for cheaper prices. I was not able to buy anything in the underground market except for souvenirs though as I had no enough money left.

Tons of K-pop merch!

For me, Myeongdong looks to westernized with all the big buildings and crowded bars and restaurants and is so touristy. However, the city is also very colorful and diverse. It's so fun to see lots of shop employees that can speak different languages such as Japanese, English and Chinese!

Tips I could probably give for shoppers is that you could haggle here! Try your best to use your charm on getting discounts ;)

Also, most of the shops, especially the smaller and non-branded ones do not have fitting rooms so you can't really try on the clothes. It's also a problem that most clothes are "one size" so for those with weird body type (like me) it would probably be a bit hard to find clothes that you can buy.

It was so fun to explore the vibrant and lively parts of Seoul. It was too bad that my budget for the trip was almost gone (as it was our second to last day) and so I did not have any money left, but nevertheless, the experience was very amusing and is definitely one of my list of the places to visit again if I have the chance to go back to Seoul in the future.


Directions:

Ewha Shopping District:
Ewha Womans University Station, Line 2, Exit 2/3

Myeongdong Shopping Area:
Myeongdong Station, Line 4, Exit 7

Follow my footsteps in South Korea!

Day 1: Gangwon-do Chuncheon and Nami Island	Day 2: Gangwon-do Mt.Seorak (Seoraksan)	Day 3: Gyeonggi-do Yongin and Food Tour	Day 4: Gyeonggi-do Suwon: Hwaseong Fortress, Korean Folk Village	Day 5: Gyeonggi-do Everland	Day 6: Gyeongju Food Tour	Day 7: Gyeongju Seokguram Grotto Bulguksa Temple Cheomseongdae and Anapji Pond
Day 8: Busan Railway Train in Korea	Day 9: Busan Igidae Coast Busan Fireworks Festival	Day 10: Busan Haedong Yonggungsa Temple Flying with Jeju Air	Day 11: Jeju (E) Food Tour- Altang Dragon Rock Jusangjeolli Cliff Teddy Bear Museum The Seaes Resort	Day 12: Jeju (W) Sunrise Peak Seopjikoji Trick Art Folk Village Sangamburi Crater, Mt.Halla Manjanggul Cave, Maze Park Jjimjilbang	Day 13: Seoul Flying with T'way Airlines Couchsurfing in Korea	Day 14: Seoul Palaces and Bukchon Village
Day 15&16: Seoul Myeongdong and Ewha University N Seoul Tower	Booking Flights via T'way Airlines	Travel Report for South Korea 16 days travel itinerary and tips