Express Bus Terminal GOTO Mall

What can I say about shopping in Korea? First of all, you can find pretty much anything. For me, not so much. It's a little hard for me to find clothes and VERY hard for me to find shoes. But if you are not on the heavy side and your shoe size is 7 or smaller, well, you are pretty much in heaven. Seoul is such a massive city with so many places to go that I am not sure that in these two years I'm going to see all of it. And then there's underground. I get overwhelmed with what I can see, and then I think of what I can't see. What's under my feet. The Express Bus Terminal GOTO Mall is part of it.

The Express Bus Terminal is a station, part of the Seoul Subway System, and also, as it name states, is the Bus Terminal for the city. In the station itself there's a crazy amount of shops and restaurants and it has underground access to the Shinsegae Mall and to the GOTO Mall. I haven't been to the Shinsegae Mall, but I hear it's really expensive. I plan on going window shopping and I caught a glimpse of their food court and it looks pretty amazing, so I might just drag the husband for lunch and walking around. 

The GOTO Mall, on the other hand, is one of my favorite places to go with the girls. They have amazing prices and great sales. Gorgeous fake jewelery, shoes, clothes, bags, household items, decor, flowers, restaurants. You can find everything here. I haven't seen a lot of electronics or stationery/craft supplies, but other than that, the place has pretty much everything I could be looking for.

Shoes and clothes are difficult for me. I'm an 8.5 and that's like... 260 in Korean sizing, and sometimes for them 250 is pushing it. When it comes to clothes I have found a couple of things but not a lot like someone skinnier or less "blessed in the chest area" would find. My butt and my boobs don't really fit their clothes, let's put it that way. But sometimes, by some miracle, I would find something I love, that is cheap and that fits and that makes me a happy girl.

 I am a fake jewelery hoarder so this is kinda paradise for me. I love accessorizing. But the real reason why this is such a paradise is the prices. Getting a chunky necklace for less than a dollar is a great bargain in anyone's book.

 Raise your hand if this reminds you of your teenage years, because it sure did the trick for me. I used to wear this kind of beads all the time when I was 14 or 15. Brought back sweet memories. I should have bought it but I don't know if I can still pull that off.

 Hello Kitty anyone?

This was my fourth time going to this place and I still haven't seen all of it. It's a great shopping area and I plan on going back a lot more times.

More Information:
Website: http://www.gotomall.kr/
 Closest Subway Station: Express Bus Terminal, Lines 3 and 7, Exit 8.

Thank you for reading!

Love,

Zayda

Myeong-dong Shopping Street

Myeong-Dong is a very popular shopping district in Seoul, and it quickly became one of my favorite places in the city. It has everything you need, from clothing to beauty stores to restaurants and anything in between. I was very happy to find a lot of American stores there, mostly because I'm on the bigger side and it is not easy for me to find clothes that fit in Korea, so the awesome 4-story Forever21 there... well, has saved my ass a couple of times. They have a main street with all the big stores and a lot of teeny-tiny streets where you can find all kinds of sweet little shops, street food, etc.

 What I love the most about shopping at Myeong-Dong is that they have all my favorite stores in the same place. Forever21, Converse, a fairly big Daiso, Etude, Roxy... the list goes on and on. I also find socks for my collection for 1000KRW (which is less than a dollar.)

The Myeong Dong Converse Store has a Custom Studio!

I was very excited to see that the Converse store has a Converse Custom Studio, I have played with the custom shoe making tool online but I can't wait to do it myself, hands on. I have to say this is something I have never seen before and I am pretty excited to try it out with my husband. I bet it's going to be a little bit pricey, but I will enjoy making my very own pair of Chucks that fit my personality.

 Myeong Dong also has a lot of street vendors, they set up their booths at 5:00PM on weekdays and all day during weekends. Beware, Myeong Dong is packed during weekends! It's a little easier to shop during weekdays when it's not so crowded. The best time would be in the morning, but if you want the street vendors as well, you'd have to wait 'til the afternoon.

 I have found Myeong Dong prices to be fair. It is not as cheap as Namdaemun or Dongdaemun, but way less expensive than a mall, and the fun thing is that you can find different stuff in every area. The American stores have their stuff priced around the same than in the States, with a couple exceptions, of course, but in my experience Forever21, Roxy and Converse have been around the same thing.

Guy dressed up as a kitty, advertising for one of the Cat Cafés

I just love Myeong Dong, and I can see myself going back plenty of times. I know there is also a Cathedral there somewhere, so I might have to explore that as well!

More Information:

- Myeong-dong Wikipedia 

- Closest Subway Station: Myeong-dong, Line 4 or Euljiro 1-ga, Line 2 

- Foreigner Friendly Area

Thanks for reading,

Love,

Zayda