May 21st - Markets and Cheonggyecheon

I blogged a little earlier the other day, so I wasn't able to talk about our walk along Cheonggyecheon. At nighttime, it's got a very romantic atmosphere and is filled with old and young couples walking, talking, and just sitting along the stream. Cheonggyecheon is essentially a very long stream with bridges and multiple walkways cutting across the way. It was once not so clean and not so romantic, and in more recent times was entirely covered by a highway. Eventually, the highway was removed in the name of urban renewal, and in time the stream became a popular public space. An interesting little fact is that the water in the stream does not flow naturally in the direction that you'd be observing if you looked at it in person. It's actually being artificially pumped against gravity, and I believe it ends up at some sort of purification plant. If you come back to the stream late enough, the water won't be flowing at all.

in the daytime

nighttime

Yesterday, we walked along the river at night, so it was very couple-dominated, which was actually very sweet to observe (or finger-curling if that kind of thing bothers you). Couples are a strange phenomenon here in Seoul; if you're in a relationship here, the world kind of knows. Girls cling to their boys, and it's not a rare occurrence to see couples in matching items - socks, shoes, hats, scarves, or even pants or shirts. Some find it cute, others find it sickening. Social image is very important to people here. At peak hours during the evening, most people won't be found alone. Seoul may feel very couple-dominated or like people have lots of friends, but it's easy to forget that people just stay inside when they're alone. Social anomie is actually a problem in cities like Seoul; it's easy to feel alone when your morals, ideals, or even preferences differ from the larger group at hand.

Today, we walked along Cheonggyecheon in the daytime. It was still dominated by many couples, but there were also families and randoms about as well. We even saw a guy on a skateboard (which is neither popular nor prominent, as described by a Yonsei student in reference to an anomalous skate park in Seoul). The water was flowing and it had a more casual feel during the daytime, much less romantic (but still somewhat).

We started the day much later, so instead of meeting for lunch, we met for dinner. We walked along the river and went to a market to eat. I don't know the name off the top of my head, but it was pretty interesting. The market was lined with many stores that sold traditional hanboks. Many other stores sold wedding wear for men and women, along with wedding shoes and other related items. My cousin's getting married soon; if she lived around here, it'd be so easy to get everything together. 

The market was filled to the brim with food. When we got there, it was just starting to get busy, but when we left, almost all the booths and stands were occupied with business-people meeting after work for eating and drinking (alcohol), arguably the most popular pastime in South Korea. Women were frying foods everywhere, and there was plenty of random seafood to stare at. We ended up eating in a restaurant on the side of the market and had many different things, like pork skin and kimchi tofu. My favorite thing was the haemul pajeon, which is like a seafood pancake (I think I wrote about it a few posts back; I ate it at Yonsei also). It's fried and greasy, but also delicious.

haemul pajeon with long green things

frying goodness

men huddled around food

We left the market after eating and walked further along Cheonggyecheon to Dongdaemun. Dongdaemun is an area of multiple buildings, all for shopping. It's definitely one of many shoppers' paradises in Seoul. The store we started at was a multi-story department store (called doota!, exclamation point included) and it featured many aspiring designers looking to score a spot in the coveted fashion industry. After seeing how expensive everything was, I left with some of our classmates and looked at other stores. One building was filled with many different kiosks, each respectively filled with specific items. The aisle we walked through had a lot of stores specializing in those pashmina-looking scarves and ajumma (middle-aged to older women) hats (visors, large sunhats, caps with velcro). These stores are designed for retailers in places like Namdaemun who buy items in bulk and sell them on the streets for a profit. When we were there, many stores were closed, but we got a good idea of how they look and function.

The last building we went to was filled with more clothes, but at cheaper prices. From 10pm to midnight, the time we spent there, this building was very very busy. The shops had just received their shipments of clothes, and some don't even sell clothes to shoppers, only to retailers. But the shops that do sell to people can cut you a good deal on their clothing. People knew I was foreign when I failed to understand the Korean numbers (but I'm getting better at it!), so I feel like they gave me higher prices. Many of the racks showed clothes but the prices were listed as ranges, like 7,000-15,000 won, and I feel like this is done so that they can charge more to those who can't or are bad at bargaining.

I ended up buying a couple hats and a shirt, it was pretty exciting. We ended the night by walking back along Cheonggyecheon to Jogyesa temple. My feet hurt and I have a couple blisters, which is rare for me. But it's a good pain. 

shopping!