Discovering Dongdaemun After Dark!

The Dongdaemun Shopping District in Seoul is one of the most popular areas to visit. Why? Shopping! Of course!

Although the Myeongdong alleys offer various cosmetic shops, fashion outlets, and a food alley, these are mostly for those who wanted convenience as these are all located in one location.

The Dongdaemun shopping malls, on the other hand, are mostly scattered around the Dongdaemun Design Plaza and are on different buildings. But what Myeongdong does not offer, Dongdaemun does! Shopping till morning!

Yes, while some shops and markets in Dongdaemun are open during daytime, the shopping really comes alive after dark!

               (Therese and friends discovering 
                      Dongdaemun after dark)

So, when my friend Therese, a former Seoulite, came to Korea for a quick visit last week, I told her I’d tour her around Dongdaemun. I had toured friends around Itaewon and at the Dongdaemun bag market at night before. So, this would be another fun night tour!

After their dinner in the nearby Namsan area, Therese, who’s from Oregon, brought along her other friends: Gail from Toronto, Yuna from New York City, Isabel from Paris, Jane from Shanghai, and Mitsuka from Tokyo!

Going to Dongdaemun, we simply boarded the blue bus from the Beotigogae area, where they had dinner, had a short bus ride, and got off at Gwanghuidong Bus Stop, one stop before the Dongdaemun Culture and History Park bus stop.

                    (Waiting for the blue bus!)

Here was our Dongdaemun tour trail:

Gwanghuimun

Said to have been constructed in 1396 during the fifth year of King Taejo, Gwanghuimun is a gate which served as one of the eight gates of the old city. This was destroyed during the Imjin War of the 16^th century. In 1975, restoration of the gate was done.

                    (Gwanghuimun after dark)

Since Gwanghuimun is hidden away on a quiet corner among shops, ordinary tourists to Dongdaemun are usually not able to spot this historical gate. But that night, I made sure Therese and her friends were able to discover this ancient gate.

LED white flowers of Dongdaemun Design Plaza

From Gwanghuimun, we made our way to the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP). I told them that this site was an old baseball stadium but is now a unique space for designers and artists, where they can sell, market, and exhibit their designs and creations. DDP was designed by the late Zaha Hadid, a world-renowned architect.

          (The ladies at the LED flower garden)

But unfortunately, it was late when we got to DDP. So, we moved around the DDP and discovered the unique, white LED flowers scattered around the landscape.  A few years back, these 20,000 LED white flowers were ‘planted’ at the southeastern corner of DDP, but they have since been re-planted on a different side.

The ladies joined other tourists and visitors posing next to the thousands of white flowers that lighted up the garden landscape behind the DDP.

Dongdaemun Night Shopping!

And as I told them, the shopping came alive after dark! From the outside, you’d see these brightly lit buildings with colorful neon signs and unique names. But inside, it was a controlled chaos of sorts where local and international shoppers swarmed around shops selling clothes and accessories fashionistas would kill for.

These shops are mostly owned and run by the Korean designers themselves, and most floors of the buildings are all populated by these fashion shops.

         (Inside a Dongdaemun shopping mall)

Outside the buildings, we noticed delivery men gathered and hauled huge plastic packages that were probably meant for online customers.

Cheonggye Stream

It was almost midnight when we capped our Dongdaemun night tour with a visit to Cheonggye Stream, which was right next to the shopping district.

We made our way down the stream for more photos. We were surprised that, even though it was late, there were a lot of people walking through the stream to exercise or walk their way home towards the eastern side of the city.

                (Isabel and Therese dropped by 
                      the Cheonggye Stream)

Yes, shopping is not the only night tour Dongdaemun offers. If you’re in Dongdaemun, make sure you don’t limit your visit to the shopping arcades and malls. There’s the Gwanghuimun, the Dongdaemun Design Plaza, and the Cheonggye Stream!

Therese and her friends had fun discovering Dongdaemun after dark. You should, too!

Green Umbrellas @ Cheonggye Stream

With the autumn skies turning blue, the umbrellas at the Cheonggye Stream turned....green!

There must have been hundreds of them hanging above the stream, some even in yellow-green attracting tourists and passers-by. Although I didn't know the actual campaign that brought about these umbrellas, it must have been something about the environment.

I wonder what the organizers would do with the umbrellas after, but I noticed names attached to each of them. The names must have been the donors who paid for each one.

So, did you stand under the green umbrella...ella...ella...?

The Philippine Parol @ The Seoul Lantern Exhibition

Two years back, I spotted a Philippine Christmas tree right in the middle of the Cheonggye Stream in Seoul, South Korea. It was one of the most popular lanterns of the Seoul Lantern Exhibition as couples and families wanted to pose for pictures and selfies right in front of the huge Christmas tree.

And at this year's edition of the Seoul Lantern Exhibition that's ongoing at the Cheonggye Stream, I spotted another 'parol', a Philippine Christmas lantern!

Although Christmas Day is about 6 weeks away, in the Philippines, Christmas trees and Christmas carols may be seen and heard sooner than that!

That must be a reason why, right at the Cheonggye Stream, the Philippines has a representative lantern that's up, lighted and twinkling! 

(The crowd with their umbrellas in front of the parol)

These three huge circular parols, standing on three columns decorated with green, red and yellow capiz shells forming stars and parols themselves, are one of the most popular attractions of the exhibition.

Even though it was raining last night at the opening of the Seoul Lantern Exhibition, there were still crowds pausing in front of the parols for photos and selfies.

If you're in Seoul and have time at night to drop by the Cheonggye Stream, the lanterns light up starting at 5PM every night until November 22. And the Philippine parols are installed near the Samil-gyo (Samil bridge), where there's an entrance to the exhibition.

Merry Christmas! I guess. Ha-ha-ha!

KTO's Medical Tourism Information Desk

Whenever I see somebody walking around downtown Seoul, or inside E-Mart (!), with her nose and her chin covered with bandage, I no longer assume that she was trying on a Halloween mask. After all, Halloween was just a few weeks ago. She or he (but mostly it's a she) just had plastic surgery and isn't ashamed to show it off to the world. 

                         (The Tourism Information Center)

The plastic surgery industry is booming in South Korea. Why? Because everyone here is obsessed with their appearance and having plastic surgery is sort of a status symbol. Try visiting the Sinsa Station in the Gangnam District in Seoul. Plastered on the walls of this subway station are posters of the 'before' and 'after' faces of models who had plastic surgery. If you want to see a few of those posters, the photos are here in a blog I wrote a year ago.

And since it's not only the locals who are visiting these plastic surgery clinics, the Korea Tourism Organization near Cheonggyecheon has an information desk, specifically for international tourists and foreigners living in Korea, where they can obtain information about the clinics and hospitals that can provide the surgical or medical attention they need. The Medical Tourism Information Center desk is attended to by Miss Bo-Yung Choi and her assistant.

Though most of the questions they get are about plastic surgery, they also provide information on several clinics and hospitals which have their own specialties on different kinds of medical conditions. According to Miss Choi, this desk is just a bridge between the patient and the medical institution. 

Although it's basically an information desk, this corner of the Tourism Information Center of the Korea Tourism Organization has several testing machines, a display of medicinal herbs, and a shelf full of brochures of several plastic surgery clinics and medical institutions. I leafed through some brochures and found some 'after' photos suspect, and seemed mislabelled. Although it was understandable to see the photos of Roy Kim getting a facial in a brochure, I wondered why is Beyonce's photo was in it. Hmm.

Last year, my friend Jeannie, who lived in Hong Kong, called to tell me that she had a friend who was flying to Seoul for plastic surgery in Gangnam, and that she gave her my number so that I could show her around. Even though I told Jeannie that I would be glad to, I wasn't sure if I'd be showing her friend around before or after the surgery. Although I thought it would have been very interesting to see her friend before and after the 'work' was done; I'd like to see the transformation.

But Jeannie's friend never called. I should have told Jeannie that, no matter what, I promise not to feature her friend in my blog. Before, or even after. Ha-ha-ha! 

So, I wonder whether Jeannie's friend actually visited the Medical Tourism Information Desk before her surgery for some referral. But if you're visiting Korea not just to shop, but also for some 'nip and tuck' (I miss that TV series, Nip/Tuck), or if you just want to seek medical advice from Korean medical practitioners, you might want to visit Korea's medical tourism site first:

http://english.visitmedicalkorea.com/english/pt/index.do

Good luck and I hope to bump into you in downtown Seoul still with your bandages!

Glowing Works of Art Along The Cheonggye Stream: The Seoul Lantern Exhibition

I wonder why the Seoul City government rolls out the annual Seoul Lantern Festival during the late autumn when the nights are really chilly, or why they even call it a 'festival'. A festival should include merrymaking, cultural events, festive activities and entertainment. In this case, it's just an array of creative lanterns along the stream, which, I suggest should just be called Seoul Lantern Exhibition, instead of Seoul Lantern Festival.

Naming aside, even if it's really cold out in the Cheonggye Stream, thousands of Seoulites and international tourists flock to the area to see the colorful lanterns of different figures and designs. Some of them hang above the stream, while others are installed on it, seemingly floating and lighting up the waters around them.

On opening night and during the weekend, it's always difficult to walk through the whole array of lanterns because of the huge crowd, but since these are best enjoyed at night, no one has a choice but to join the multitude.

Although these lanterns are not as huge and spectacular compared to those during the lantern parade during Buddha's birthday celebration, they are as colorful and creatively made.

As if it's not difficult enough to conceive an idea for the lantern, make its skeleton, cover it with colored paper before inserting the lights and the electrical wires, transporting them to the site and installing them over a body of water are a challenge unto themselves. And to top it all, having a huge generator within the site to provide electricity to all the lanterns until late at night is also a big part of the planning.

While we all just lazily walk by admiring the colorful shapes and designs of the Seoul Lantern Festival, we forget that a lot of hard work went into staging the whole event. I would have wanted to meet the artisans behind the lanterns themselves, those creative minds who came up with those intricately made figures that mesmerize the kids and adults alike.

And during these chilly autumn nights, these artists' works of art will illuminate once more the Cheonggye Stream from November 1 to the 17th, telling stories through figures and lanterns from 5PM and it's 'lights off' at 10PM.

I may take a look at this year's set of lanterns one of these nights. If you also plan to, be prepared for the chill and the huge crowd.

Here are a few photos of the lanterns from the previous exhibition: 

                (These figures are very intricate and colorful)

                      (Yes, the Philippines has a booth at the 
                             Seoul Lantern Festival)

                    #itsmorefuninthePhilippines....indeed!

                                (A king laughing at the jester)

                (A huge ship floats and lights up the stream)

             (These rows of figures with a king are my favorite.)

                             (Looks like a conniving duo)

                       (Yes, this horse moves and gallops!)

                     (A tourist throws a coin into the stream)

To get to Cheonggyecheon: 
Exit 5 of Gwanghwamun Station (Line 5 Purple)
Exit 5 of Jonggak Station (Line 1 Dark Blue)
Exit 4 of City Hall Station (Line 2 Green and Line 1 Dark Blue)
Exits 2 and 3 of Euljiro-1-ga Station (Line 2 Green)