Express Bus Terminal
Dec 05 '07
The Bottom Line Surprisingly, not just a transfer point, but a destination.
And I thought reviewing Dongdaemun Market was tough. I have no idea how to organize this.
The Express Bus Terminal is, just like it sounds, a huge bus terminal in south central Seoul where you can catch a fast bus to anywhere in the country. It is also a transfer point between the orange line which runs north-west to south east and the light green line which runs east-west but south of the Han River. Tens if not hundreds of thousands of people move through this station on a daily basis. Korea is a time poor, cash rich society (at least they think so.) Having shopping in easy reach of a transportation hub is ideal.
It's also really messy. Dongdaemun could be organized by types of available shopping that are largely broken up by areas. In Express Bus Terminal everything is cheek by jowl with everything else. You find socks next to DVDs next to flowers. And there's probably a Dunkin' Donuts in there too. I've counted 4 and I don't think I've explored everything. There are a few main areas which I'll try to describe.
Shinseagae Department Store
Think Macy's. Shinseagae is a very, very upscale department store catering to the very rich (like the parents of my students) and the people who want to be very rich. We bought something at a Shinseagae and ended up with a shopping bag which we later used to carry something to school. I can't tell you how many "ooh Shinseagae" comments we got from the Korean staff. Personally, I go there for the Lush store on the 7th (or is it the 8th) floor and the grocery store in the basement where I spend $5 for a jar of Ragu spaghetti sauce. Be aware that the salespeople in Shinseagae are extremely aggressive and a good number speak English.
Honnam Underground Shopping Area
This place is really weird. I've been to one end, but never made it to the other. it's a long narrow underground (natch) shopping area usually 2, but sometimes 3 corridors wide. The ceiling is low giving the impression of being in a space station. One end is mostly clothes, shoes and cosmetics. The other end is housewares. There might be something beyond that, but I've never made it through housewares. There's only so much time in the day. The roughly 10x10 storefronts feature everything from top of the line furs to heaps of $1 what-ever-you-can-dig-outs. Sometimes side by side. A lot of it is very raw looking with exposed concrete floors and so so lighting. It's not dangerous or scary, but it feels like a basement.
Central City
Really just more shopping, but this is nicer, looking more like a shopping area. The lower area boasts a Krispy Kreme which is always busy. There's also a 7 screen movie theatre and a Build-A-Bear.
Between
If you arrive here by subway, you can't miss this area, but it doesn't really have a name. It feels like a basement, but this is a great place to find cheap shoes and flowers. You'll have to go through part of this to get to Central City and Shinseagae.
The Terminal
The bus terminal looks like the warped mating of a mall and a bus station. On one side you have doors heading out to the buses and on the other you have brightly lit shops and the inevitable Dunkin' Donuts.
Outside
As with most Korean shopping areas, where there's a wall there's the opportunity for more stores. The outside of the terminal is ringed with even more shops and restaurants. Mostly it's the same stuff you saw inside.
Other
There are some places that can only be reached from the inside of the gates to the subway. One of my favorite places is at the top of the green line. They have the best cheap jewelry anywhere. They also have a lot of cheap clothes that makes it fun to browse.
What you can get at Express Bus Terminal is great prices. Yes, there is very expensive stuff here, but there is also very, very cheap stuff. I am still kicking myself for passing on a couple of things because once it's gone, forget it. However I'm not entirely sure I believe the '14 carat gold' tags on much of the jewelry. It's a great place to go if you need to outfit an apartment and can't find a dollar store or you need to fill out a wardrobe and don't want to trek to Dongdaemun on a Sunday. Shinseagae is also a good place for ex-pats to find some food items. Navigation is a nightmare, but there's always signs (in English) to help. And food is plentiful and wide variety. The Outback is pretty good and if you're strapped there's a McDonald's practically across the hall. It's actually a pretty good destination for a cold winter's day because there's lots to do without ever going outside.
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