Myeongdong 2013 - Must Shop!

Myeongdong Subway Station, Line 4, Exit 6 (easier way)
Euljiro-1-ga Subway Station, Line 2, Exit 5 

Myeongdong is a much loved place for both tourist and locals.

Why you MUST stop by Myeongdong if you are in Seoul

1.       It’s easy to access (via Line 2 & Line 4), and right nest to many popular places like Seoul Tower and Dongdaemun, hence, an easy location to incorporate into your tour itinerary.

2.       It’s HUGE in area size, so you can spend the whole day there walking about, people-watching and shopping non-stop.

3.       It has a great variety of shops. From skincare to make-up to accessories (and I mean all sorts of accessories from head to toe, even for your pet and your handphone!) to clothes (and again, I mean all sorts of clothes, from expensive ones to inexpensive ones) and many more super cute and fun stuff.

4.       It has A LOT of restaurants, cafés random street hawkers selling street food etc. You can shop – eat – shop –drink – shop… and then drop! And the cycle goes on.

5. As it is close to Namsan Towers, you may also easily walk to the Namsan Elevator that will bring you to the Namsan Cable Car Station which will bring you directly to Nasam Tower and see the spectacular city scene. 

As I have mentioned in my previous entry, the first place to go is the Seoul Centre for Culture & Tourism – located at a building called M PLAZA. It’s on level 4 (or 5) I can’t remember, get a map of Myeongdong, so you will be able to identify where you are heading and where you want to head to. You need this cos Myengdong is so big and it has so many different lanes that all look the same. Imagine turning into every lane and seeing Nature Republic and Etude House in every lane… yes.. you will wonder if you have already walked pass this one.

To get to M Plaza, go via the Myeongdong Subway Station, Exit 6 way

*Please refer to previous entry for the other things you getto do at Seoul Centre for Culture & Tourism.

This is a snap of the map I used while shopping in Myeongdong 

(someone actually stopped me to ask where I got that map from – yes – M Plaza)

http://www.pictureshack.us/images/23993_Myeondong_01.jpg

Those locations marked with the red dot & number are the places that are highly recommended to go by the creator of the map. As this map is made for Japanese tourist, it should be highly reliable as Japanese are amongst the most meticulous and thoughtful people, so their map recommendation would have highlighted the best places to eat, shop, go for services like haircuts, massage etc.

A few of my favourite shops in Myeongdong:

1.       ARTBOX (circled it out on below map)

2.       BLACK CAT ACCESSORIES

3.       ALAND - i heard this is one of the prime shopping place for koreans? (circled it out on below map)

4.       RANDOM little shops that sells cardigans and classic t-tops for only 10,000 won (about S$12), they are located in the little lanes - keep your eyes open!

 Anyways, here are some snap shots of the street culture:

 

HAPPY SHOPPING!!

M Plaza Helpdesk, Myeongdong, 명동

Myeong-dong Subway Station, Line 4 or
Euljiro 3-ga Subway Station, Line 2

The first thing that any tourist to Seoul should do (especially if they are traveling alone) would be to head to Myeong-dong, M-Plaza.

It is the place where I got all the information I need... from random things like where to find a gym closest to home (yes, I enquired about that) to directions to other suburbs area.

There are:
- Maps of all sorts, for touring Seoul and for touring outside Seoul
- Free Hanbok photo-taking
- Free Arts & Craft Lessons (you can check the schedule on-the-spot)
- Friendly Customer Service Officers (Japanese-Speaking, Mandarin-Speaking, English Speaking)

Just super cool!

I selected this book called: SEOUL BEST 100 PLACES to go.

From there, I bookemarked the places that interest me and there you have it - an organised directory for touring by myself!



DIRECTIONS

The directions here are quite straight forward.

You head to Myeong-dong (see the above Subway listing). I cant recall the which exit, but upon exit, you should be able to spot an area which is bustling with live, people, music, shops etc. 

That would be Myeong-dong. The street would look like this.

 

Warning: Shops are "replicated" everywhere!
Turn right and you see Missha, Etude House and Skin Food
Turn left and you see theEXACT same thing!

And best thing is, the "street hawkers" and wheel cart shops by the pathway all sell the SAME thing!
Tell me not to get lost!

Look out for a big building called M Plaza (should be indicated on the Myeong-dong map) if you do get lost.

This is a shot of M Plaza, ZARA would be a good "marker" for the building.

 

Enter the building and take the lift to 4th floor and there you will see the Helpdesk I am talking about.

 It's called Seoul Centre. And you can ask about anything you like.

 

Here are just some random shots of me attending a Handicraft workshop.

 It was a great way to spend my Friday afternoon!

Anyway, after all that activity, I just wanted dinner.

Sad thing is I was being rejected by 2 other restaurants prior to finding this restaurant as they did not want to take in "table for 1"!!!

Can't describe how I felt when I finally had this bowl of bibimbap in front of me... There was some sense of "sadness" and at the same time joy...

Just as it looks - this was YUMMY! but it did cost 6000won... sooo it had better be!