Seoul Walking : Getting Crafty in Dongdaemun

Dongdaemun Fabric Market has been on my list of Seoul 'to dos' since the day we moved here three and a half years ago, but it took a visit from a dear friend at the beginning of the year to actually get me there (isn't it so often the way)? I've been back several times since, and it's one of the places I'm really hoping to make it to one last time before we leave. 

Dongdaemun is a big sprawling market with areas dedicated to the sale of different things - lots of cheap clothing and footwear, and a slightly disturbing section for pets and pet supplies (if you find yourself stuck in Seoul looking for a pet iguana, this is the place to come). Amongst the knock off sneakers, fish tanks and two dollar sweaters is the Fabric Market - if you have the slightest hint of a crafting bone in your body, this is the place to visit. 

Don't be fooled by the name, it's more than fabric you'll find here. Hundreds of tiny stalls are crammed in to two buildings, spread across six floors - it is beyond overwhelming (and often stiflingly warm, even in winter). There's beautiful embroidered silk, fluorescent lace, printed denim, corduroy, cotton and lace; there's spots and stripes and checks. There's beads and buttons, feathers and sequins, and all manner of embellishments and trims. There's embroidery hoops and knitting needles and teeny, tiny little pom poms. Oh, and then there's the ribbon! So much beautiful ribbon! 

The market is largely aimed at wholesalers. Each of the fabric stalls have little samples set out, which you can take for free (provided you treat the system with respect), but they'll also sell it to you by the yard. Most of the ribbon stalls will sell you some 'samples' for about a dollar a yard (which is insanely cheap, especially considering the quality on offer). The top floor is targeted more at your everyday crafter, with things for sale in standard quantities for standard pricing (standard for Asia, that is!). Jade beads and wooden beads and fabric patches and fat quarters and all kinds of rope and bias binding in every shade and hair clips and tiny teddy bears and little bows and pink plastic hedgehogs and oh my! You can pretty much find anything and everything you crafting heart desires! 

Seoul Walking : Hoehyundong (Under Ground)

Like many big cities with extreme seasons, Seoul has all kinds of tunnels and underground shopping centres dotted about the place. They provide a haven in Winter when it's -16°C and icy out, or in Summer when it's stinking hot and pouring with rain. And - being filled with all kinds of quirky and surprising shops - they're also just a fun place to explore. This is Hoehyundong, my neighbourhood, under ground. 

I love the Hoehyundong Underground Shopping Centre. From a purely practical perspective, it means I can leave my apartment and do the grocery shopping, go out for lunch - five dollar soup noodles with tofu and kim chi; or perhaps sushi, bibimbap or my favourite 만두 (dumplings) - and post a package or two without ever stepping outside. 

Each underground shopping centre seems to have it's own specialities, and ours seems to be perfectly matched to the things I love. There are fun little clothing stores (granted, I can't fit in to most of it but they're cute to look at); tiny coffee shops and restaurants; hand crafted shoe stores; more vinyl than you could possibly imagine (and  a wonderfully crazy mix too!); wool emporiums with little groups of knitters and hookers working away; vintage cameras and books and stamps (I hunt out the ones with dachshunds on them, of course); and more camera accessories than a happy snapper could possibly ask for (like this camera bag). 

Basically - we live on top of an underground shopping centre devoted to vintage, photography and craft. A perfect piece of serendipity, yes?

Seoul Walking : Hoehyundong (Above Ground)

Hoehyundong (회현동) is where I live, it's my neighbourhood. It's a tiny little nothing place, more than a bit seedy in parts. But I love it. I love it because it's right in the heart of Seoul, new and old. It sits bang in the middle of a trifecta of awesome - with Namsan, Namdaemun and Myeongdong all a few minutes walk in one direction or another. There's also the Hoehyundong underground shopping centre, but more on that later...

Hoehyundong itself is pretty scrappy and worn out. But there's colour and life everywhere you look; people working hard to make a (small) living. There's hairdressers and wholesalers and cafes full of Konglish. There's more convenience stores than you think any one suburb could possibly need, chicken and beer joints, and some "hotels" that I'm pretty sure charge by the hour. There's cooks doing their dinner prep on the street; sellers with loud hailers, plying baskets of fruit from the back of their ute; and delivery guys on over laden motorbikes. And come Spring there's pot plants on every road side, on every concrete path and step, filled with tenderly cared for chilli seedlings and all kinds of lettuce. 

The area is earmarked for development. Our shiny new apartment building was the start, and since we've been here a few more towers have shot up. In ten years time I think the place will be unrecognisable, for good and for bad.  

Seoul Walking : Street Food

Rain, hail, snow or shine you can always find something to eat on Seoul's street corners. In Winter there's freshly roasted chestnuts and in Summer there's delicious juicy slabs of watermelon. And all year round there's sausages, fried potato, chicken and fish cakes (all on sticks); toasties featuring an assorted mix of plastic cheese, spam and egg; peanut butter flavoured dried squid (seriously); dumplings; egg cake (like a steamed vanilla pudding with an egg whacked on the top); braised silk worm; 'gold fish' bread; and all kinds of hot pockets and fritters and things stuffed inside other things (did you know it was possible to fill a cocktail wiener with cheese?). Korea's street vendors are nothing if not inventive. 

Not being a fan of squid, fish cakes, insects or deep fried sausages, most of this street buffet is off limits for me. But I have found a few tasty things for snacking on the go. I love the Summer fruit stalls, and the dumplings. And I'm quite partial to the egg cakes (they are so moist and vanillary, and they warm you up in the cold of Winter), although I tend to take the egg part of it home for the dogs. But my favourite is '호떤' ('hodok' or 'hotteok') which is a shallow fried rice flour pancake with stuff in the middle. You can get a sweet version, but I love the savoury one with glass noodles and a little veg (see below). 

Everyone who visits Seoul always asks - is it safe to eat? I think yes, especially if you go to the busy stalls in high traffic areas. As for taste, it's all so cheap you might as well give it a try - you'll only waste a dollar or two if you don't like it. And it'll give you the chance to admire the simple ingenuity of these street cooks and their portable kitchens. Oh, and a word of warning, if it looks like it's something delicious stuffed with chocolate it's probably not - red bean paste looks deceptively like Nutella...

Seoul Walking : Autumn Gold

Have I mentioned Autumn is my favourite season in Seoul? Oh, I have? Once or twice you say? Well, it is. And one of the best bits is the golden glow of the gingko trees that line so many streets. The leaves look especially stunning against the glorious blue Autumn sky. And when the wind blows so many leaves fall through the air it's like you're walking through a golden shower shower of gold. And after a windy day the city is carpeted in yellow (slippery as heck but so very pretty!).

Seoul Walking : A Moment in Namsan

In Seoul we're already saying goodbye to Autumn. The between seasons are fleeting here, there's really only a few weeks in the year which you could call 'spring' or 'autumn'. And maybe because of that I appreciate them even more. Autumn is most definitely my favourite season in Seoul - clear, blue, sunshiney skies; crisp nights, warm days; the changing colours of the leaves; the shifts in produce and products (overnight the markets stalls switch from brollies and sun hats to mittens and scarves). 

Namsan is a mountain, a park, right in the heart of Seoul and right on our doorstep. In the middle of this ever changing, ever expanding city it's a calming oasis of clean air and stunning vistas. I've only walked a small part of Namsan, but it's been stunning - dappled light, leaves just starting to turn, the sound of water flowing. 

When I can (which is not often enough) I pack a picnic and head for the hill. If I'm on my own I often get stopped by curious Koreans and some lonely expats too. I love seeing the office workers drinking in the fresh air on their lunch breaks; the groups of 'hikers' thoroughly kitted out, gossiping as they walk; the sight impaired making use of the tactile walkways...