Namdaemun, Shop 'Till you drop Korean style
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With no closing time and no end to the warren of shops and snack shacks, Namdaemun will satisfy the most desperate shopaholic.
Namdaemun Market is Korea's representative traditional market. It's tradition, size, and trade that have been built up for 600 years are incomparable with any other markets. The distinct advantages of shopping at Namdaemun Market are variety of goods and cheap price. Especially, Namdaemun Market has control over the world's trading circulation of children's clothing and accessories. Recently, it has lost much of it's popularity to modernized Dongdaemun Market. However, it is still the number one shopping place that foreigners most prefer to go.
Namdaemun Market where you can feel the life of very common people of Korea has a lot of fun things. You can experience interesting bargaining and delicious Korean food. Moreover, somewhat peculiar rhythms and actions of the merchants on the street have become the most popular things about Namdaemun Market among foreigners. You can also enjoy The National Treasure #1, Namdaemun(Great Southern Gate) as you shop as much as you want.
Namdaemun Market has been rebuilt as a modern market since the big fire in 1986. Today, it's divided into A, B, C, D and E sections. About 10,000 stores are placed in it's 118,350yds size. 80% of it's goods are sold in wholesale price. Namdaemun Market has everything you need such as fabrics, electric home appliances, folk art articles, native products and daily used utensils.
Another fun thing you can do in Namdaemun Market is exploring little back streets hiding around big stores. There are clock street, school materials street, eat-out street with interesting Korean food, bamboo basket street, and etc. You will forget the time as you are so enraptured by these interesting streets.
Namdaemun Market, unlike other markets gets busier during night time. At midnight, merchants receive new goods and prepare to greet customers. It becomes very crowded as time reaches 2 a.m. The market gradually calms down at 4 a.m. Merchants then eat their early breakfast, Gukbab(soup with rice) as they prepare for another day. Korea's dawn begins like this in Namdaemun Market.
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