23 May 2010, Posted by Matt in Art & Culture, Best of DK.com, Seoul, Shopping, 3 Comments

Seoul’s Folk Flea Market

This market sells everything under the sun, from Joseon-era pottery and a knight’s helmet to a real tiger pelt. It’s a great place to get one-of-a-kind gifts for friends and family.

28 Mar 2010, Posted by Matt in Seoul, Shopping, Video, 2 Comments

Sinchon’s Playground for Youth

The name “Sinchon” means “new village,” yet this home to several of Seoul’s best-known universities is actually one of the city’s older neighborhoods.

15 Feb 2010, Posted by Matt in Art & Culture, Food & Drink, Seoul, Shopping, Video, 6 Comments

Insa-dong’s Tradition and Modernity

The Insa-dong neighborhood starts modestly, but as the main road continues its diagonal push toward Gwanghwamun Gate, the area’s charming tea shops, traditional restaurants and galleries are quickly revealed.

28 Sep 2009, Posted by Matt in Food & Drink, Historic Korea, Seoul, Shopping, Video, 4 Comments

Seoul’s Jungang Traditional Market

As a modern city, Seoul has adopted many of the conveniences of our globalized society. So, today, it’s commonplace to see familiar global brands, foreign fast-food chains and the fusion of eastern and western styles and cultures.

Of course, these adaptations are convenient for many of us, yet they often lack the specific Korean cultural flavor that makes living in Seoul a special and unique experience. Luckily, truly Seoul-specific places do remain in the city, and in my experience, some of the best ones are the traditional markets. Among them, my favorite is the Jungang, or Central Market (중앙시장), located near the city’s Great East Gate, better known as Dongdaemun.

(more…)

10 Jul 2009, Posted by Matt in Seoul, Shopping, Video, 7 Comments

Gangnam Underground Shopping Arcade

Late June is typically when the jangma (장마), or monsoon season hits the Korean Peninsula. This means three weeks or more of heavy downpours, and even when it’s not raining, it’s still muggy and hot. Given these conditions, I thought it time to profile a good place that’s inside and air-conditioned.

The Gangnam Underground Shopping Arcade (강남지하상가) is located beneath the Express Bus Terminal in Seoul’s Seocho District. From the terminal you can take a bus basically anywhere in South Korea. Since three subway lines converge here, you can imagine it’s a busy place. Come here during rush hour and it’s quite a slog trying to move against the current of human bodies that’s transferring between subway lines.

(more…)

18 Mar 2009, Posted by Matt in Buddhist Temples, Nature, Seoul, Shopping, 13 Comments

Youth Culture in Seoul’s Edae Neighborhood

The Edae neighborhood’s shopping alleys at night (click here for larger).

Periodically, we explore places to see in the big city. This time around we’ll head to a vibrant neighborhood that’s often overlooked on Seoul itineraries. That neighborhood is Edae (이대), which along with the neighborhoods of Sinchon and Hongdae, are perhaps Seoul’s most famous areas for college students. Sure, Sinchon and Hongdae are very well-known for their youthful exuberance, but Edae has its own distinct character that shouldn’t be missed.

(more…)

12 Feb 2009, Posted by Matt in Festivals & Holidays, Gangwon, Gyeongsang, Historic Korea, Nature, Seoul, Shopping, 4 Comments

Romantic Holidays and Destinations

A snapshot of a sidewalk “White Day” sale near Ewha Woman’s University (sic) from last year.

No, Valentine’s Day isn’t an indigenous creation, but Koreans have embraced the holiday fully.  And beyond being just a day for shops to sell anything pink or red, it’s also a special time to tell someone in your life, saranghae (사랑해), or “I love you.”

Actually, there are many quasi-official days for love in Korea. Youth and marketers have conspired to designate the 14th of almost every month a special day, with very specific rules to follow.

For example, although today is observed as Valentine’s Day in Korea, traditionally it’s when women give chocolate and gifts to their significant others. On March 14th, which is called “White Day,” the roles are reversed, and get this, some say that men are supposed to give gifts that are three times the value of what she gave you the previous month!

(more…)

27 Nov 2008, Posted by Matt in Gyeongsang, Historic Korea, Nature, Shopping, 10 Comments

Colorful Daegu

Like most Korean cities, glitzy high rises are rapidly transforming Daegu’s modest neighborhoods.

(A version of this text aired on KBS World Radio on May 3, 2008.)

If you ask Koreans for recommendations on where to visit, you’ll undoubtedly hear Seoul, probably the port city of Busan, historic Gyeongju, or scenic Jeju island. But one place you typically don’t find on peoples’ short list, is Daegu, Korea’s fourth largest city and the capital of North Gyeongsang Province.

You see, Daegu is my mother’s hometown, so, I’ll admit that I have special affection for this bustling city of two and a half million people. But give me a couple of minutes and I think I can also persuade you that a visit is certainly worth the effort.

(more…)

17 Nov 2008, Posted by Matt in Art & Culture, Food & Drink, Seoul, Shopping, 7 Comments

Garosugil – Sinsa’s Tree-Lined Street

There’s a habit among some to equate parts of Seoul or Korea as the “fill in the blank” of Europe or America. I’ve always found these comparisons ill-fitting. Also, why should Korea describe itself only in reference to somewhere else? For better or worse, Korean cities always feel more like Korea than Manhattan or Naples, and a lot of people (myself included) prefer it that way.

But in a nation as homogenous as this one, I can imagine it’s fun for the locals to pretend they’re somewhere else. A case in point is the popular Garosugil, in Gangnam’s Sinsa-dong neighborhood. The street officially known as Dosan-daero buk 5-gil (도산대로 북 5길), has become a trendy place for 7,000-won lattés and foreign cuisine. And to be fair to the friend who introduced Garosugil as “Europe in Seoul”, there does seem to be an affinity for faux-French.

(more…)

31 Oct 2008, Posted by Matt in Food & Drink, Historic Korea, Jeju, Jeolla, News, Seoul, Shopping, 1 Comments

Travel News Summary

A vendor at Seoul’s Noryangjin Fish Market (노량진 수산시장) (from Gourmet Magazine).

Seoul Fish Market in Gourmet Magazine
Seoul’s Noryangjin Fish Market (노량진 수산시장) receives rave reviews in October’s edition of Gourmet Magazine. Described as “one of the greatest food spectacles on earth”, writer Jonathan Gold praises the 700 stalls of stingrays, halibut and pickled clams. If you’d like to visit the fish market yourself, arrive early in the morning via Seoul subway line 1′s Norangjin Station.

(more…)