Midnight Shopping

Dongdemun Stadium. When people say Dongdemun Stadium it is immediately connected to shopping. This stop on the blue line is probably the largest shopping complex in all of Korea. Lots of knock offs, if you know where to look, and lots of haggling, if you know how to do it. Every square inch of the stadium is packed with stalls. Folks selling everything. Fabrics alone occupy at least two floors with stalls so close to each other that you have no idea where one stall ends and the other begins. Street vendors make the already minimal sidewalks even more narrow. They are selling everything from jewlery, to fish cakes on a stick, to boiled worm larva, handbags, shoes, scarves, t-shirts and much more.

This place is HELLISH to go to during the day. Imagine thousands, if not close to a million, people trying to shop in one area. I have been there at times where I am carried forward in a jammed packed sea of people. People run into you, bump into you, push you, elbow you while you are trying to walk on the narrow, uneven sidewalk. Needless-to-say, I hate going to Dongdemun Stadium during the day. I am also so overwhelmed by the people and the stalls with all of the things to buy. I usually avoid the place but my close friend Kathleen came to visit and wanted to go jeans shopping so we went to Dongdemun at midnight. A very good choice. There were far less people but also still busy.

It is hard to describe Korean fashion. Alot of frills, lace, bows, dangling items, wierd combinations of English words on oddly designed t-shirts, glitter, ruffles. When I first came to Korea my first impression of shopping was a huge second hand store but with mostly grandma looking clothes. I am a clean lines, simple yet elegant type so it is hard for me to find anything I like here, unless I spend ALOT of money.

It is really difficult to find pants or jeans here especially for foreign women. Apparently it is hard to find bras too. Korean women tend to not have much shape to them. So when my friend Kathleen tried on two pairs of jeans last night one pair had too much going on and another pair would go over her thighs and butt but were loose around her waist. The interesting thing too is that these were stalls without fitting rooms. To try on jeans or in my case, a pair of slacks, the shop keeper gave me a long skirt to put on over my pants. I take off my pants and try on the others under the cover of the skirt. Remember there are people walking around the entire time while you partially disrobe yourself. It is a little odd I must admit but part of the experience of shopping.

Kathleen told me as we left that one of the shop keepers was staring at my butt the whole time! As I said, Korean women ,for the most part, are pretty narrow so I do get stared at sometimes because I am not.

I am not a fan of shopping. I like to find what I want and leave. I bought a couple of things I needed last night in the relative comfort that midnight shopping offers. Kathleen didn't find what she wanted so today we wgo to Itaewon for brunch and jeans shopping!!!!