Falling for South Korea - Insa-dong & Namdaemun market

Day 6 : INSA-DONG

Insa-dong can be reached by taking the metro to City Hall. The sign is clear that is should not be a problem to reach there. Insa-dong is actually an antique street but typical souvenir items are sold abundantly here. When I visited this place, there was an exhibition where sculptures creatively made of recycle/reusable items were on display. I was so regret for not taking any pictures of those sculptures which were very interesting. There were also sculptures which were placed beyond the display area and visitors need to have their eyes 'wide-opened' to spot those hidden sculptures.

Souvenirs sold here is expensive if they are purchased individually. For example, a single key-chain would cost KRW 3000 per piece, but it would cost KRW 2000 per piece if bought the whole set of 5. The same thing if purchasing decorative mini-saucer which cost KRW 4000 per piece, but it saves us KRW 2000 when a set of 3 is purchased at KRW 10,000. Such a smart business strategy though.

There are also shops selling various types of ginseng health drinks. The prices depending on the age of the ginseng used, which means the older the ginseng, the expensive it is. My buddy bought himself several boxes of such health drink for KRW 38,000 per box (10 vials each box). There is a label at each vial stating that the ginseng used is 6 years old of age.

Other than being a shopping, one can just sit there and observe the people passing through this area, only if he/she has nothing else to do that day.

Here are some of my catches in Insa-Dong, which are still in my possession

The boxed key-chain (KRW 10,000, a set of five), the other one KRW 3,000

Small size decorative plate cum magnet, KRW 10,000 for a set of 3 (KRW4,000 invidually)

Can't recall the price

Day 10 : Namdaemum Market


We spent our final day in South Korea by surveying, peeking, tasting and of course, a little bit of shopping in Namdaemun market. Thank you to all of the travelers who have been suggesting to visit this market. Seriously, if I have no control over my wallet, I might have to pay extra for the luggage fees. Before we get there, we kept our belongings the lockers in City Hall station. Of course it was not a good idea to shop while carrying around heavy and huge bags.

There is an infamous Namdaemun gate which is commonly photographed by visitors and travelers alike when reaching the area. I could not spot the gate at first, and later I realized that the gate was covered with a temporary building-like structure at the roundabout. The gate was undergoing reconstruction, or restoration process too. This really killed the joy of getting getting the last pictures of Korean grand and historical structures.

I first caught glimpse on the autumn and winter clothing which were really fashionable and neat. The prices, when converted to RM, are pretty expensive, though it is cheaper than buying those kinds of garments in Malaysia. The autumn/winter coats, the mufflers and the millinery are of latest design though several of them may look overly accessorized with furs, beads and sequins.

Namdaemun market is also one of the perfect places to buy souvenirs for friends and family. The more you buy, the cheaper you can get, depending on the sellers, of course. I thought it was not possible to bargain, so we did not try to do so, and we did not buy many things. Other than common souvenirs e.g fridge magnets, key-chains, decorative plates and all, typical Korean-style hand-fans and cute Hanboks for kids were sold here and there. And for those who love K-pop, there are a small section in several shops displaying items for sale with K-pop stars printed on each item  

The cheapest Korean-made, Korean style souvenir (KRW 1,000 per piece)

KRW 3,000 per piece

Another famous items for the ladies are the facial masks. There were varieties of facial masks sold with great prices. For example, buy 10 free 1 for KRW 3500, and there were some other cheaper than this. This is to say each mask costs us ~RM 1 per piece. Bloody cheap isn't it? This is something worth buying because a simple facial mask in Malaysia would cost us around RM3 to RM8 per piece (there is even more expensive than that). There are other cheap Korean cosmetics sold here but I did not bother to survey because I knew I would want to shop till drop.

Facial masks, KRW3,500 for 11 (buy 10 free 1)

While walking and looking around, we were greeted by a guy who was handling a small stall at a corner of a shop. He deliberately invited us to his stall and tried hard to speak our language, with some considerably understandable English. We demonstrated to the pair of us on how to make a piece of Ta-rae, a traditional Korean dessert, which could only be enjoyed by the royalties in the past. Ta-rae has a cotton like outer layer which is made up of fine 16,000 ++ strands of  honey and some other ingredients. The fillings are made of groundnuts, cashews, green tea and even chocolates. It is really nice but those who do not enjoy super-sweet stuff, may dislike it. This is also a perfect gift for friends and families.

Seaweeds, ginsengs and other Korean sweets are sold here which buying them in bulk will save us several thousands of wons. The Korean Red Ginseng candy seems to be something nice but not all can take the earthy taste of the ginsengs. Good remedies are not always nice isn't it? We bought several packs, which I believe each pack consists of 100 pieces of such candy. My buddy, who is being a little health-conscius lately, bought several boxes of the Ginseng health-drink. It is more expensive here but with his bargaining skills, he managed to get the same price like what he got from Insa- Dong.

Ginseng candy, KRW 15,000 for 2 packs, but we got it KRW 20,000 for 3 packs

I love this place so much. And I swear I will return to Korea one day, and drop-by at this place again. Cross my fingers!!

After shopping, we returned to the Seoul station and get our belongings from the electronic lockers. 

We headed to the airport and it was time to say 'good riddance' to South Korea