Korea 2019| Dongdaemun (DDP, Doota Duty Free Mall, Hyundai City Outlet, Gongcha)

Dongdaemun Design Plaza
(동대문디자인플라자; DDP)

281, Eulji-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul

Tuesday-Sunday 10:00-19:00

+82-2-2153-0000 | Website

I don't know how come we stopped so far but if you want to go to DDP, you can stop via the station below: 

Transport

Dongdaemun History & Culture Park Station
(Seoul Subway Line 2, 4 ,5) and Exit 1.

On the outside, you can also stop by a cafe for a quick coffee session.

As you walk closer, you will start to see more weird things.

First of, the shape of the building and the "bridge" behind. 

Then, the statue:

I'm not sure what it wants us to interpret it.

Maybe about multiple personalities and traits?

Anyway, moving into the DDP, you will find yourself looking at the first artifact. This is one of the building sites remained from the Chosun Dynasty. You're not allowed to walk in tho.

Walking deep into the plaza, you will find the exit of the train station and the entrance to the design market. I didn't take photos inside because I thought I should respect the artists by doing so.

There was also a Disney exhibition but it was too expensive for us.

Saw a staircase and I wanted to take selfies so here we go :>

There's a lot of wind in this area. Make sure you wear enough when you know the season is a little chilly! Just worried that you might hurt your lungs and catch a cold.

There was also a KAKAO Friends here! Since I like them a lot, I decided to shop again. I came here during the last day so I wanted to make sure I didn't regret not buying any thing that I might want.

It's big and quite empty here. Pretty nice to shop.

Majority of their classic items can be found here.

It's also best to visit here if you dislike being in a crowd.

I usually prefer going to a branch that has lesser people because there might be things that I've missed. I tend to avoid people so I naturally avoided a specific area and most of the time I forget to visit that area again.

One of the areas that I missed out in the flagship store: electronics and accessories.

There are many stickers here a long with phone cases that you can stick onto. Typically, people use the stickers everywhere including their handheld mirror and their makeup cases.

But one thing really caught my eye here: phone holder for cars.

I was looking for a magnet holder that's for the airconditioner vent and I found one here! It looks really cute too! I immediately took one back. I liked the Apeach version so I grabbed that one.

They also have baby versions of their characters!

Mouse and the mouse pad tho. I would buy if it's wider and cheaper >w<

The keyboard was so interesting and I really wanted it but it was seriously expensive so I skipped it. So many cushions are available as well. I would've bought one for my office chair if I didn't realize that it's making me slouching too often.

Okay, okay. I know I talked about this in another post.

How bout I let you look at the pictures?

Hotel items available too!

Clothing line available too!!

I also took some photos of the pyjamas for you.

If you're hungry, you can go ahead and check out the cafeteria area. I saw this shop called Sonoya (소노야동대문디디피점) and got interested so I went in. The only have self-service ordering and payment method so make sure you got your orders ready in your head before you go to the machine or reserve seats because you might be taking up other people's time.

Here's the menu if you want to see:

The restaurant is relatively small and it features a lot of solo seating.

There are some tables for groups but there are limited tables.

You are also asked to clean up your own mess after eating.

Don't worry, you don't need to wash it.

I ordered a bowl of noodles similar to cold soba and uh... let's just say I didn't really enjoy it that much. It was normal but the ice cube was huge and the noodles were a little harder to chew.

Before I left, I also ordered a Gongcha!

It was right around the corner in the cafeteria and I wanted to try a new flavour so I went in. They wanted me to wait 15 mins because they were about to refill either the ice or the oreo. I didn't mind so I waited and it actually tasted good. I liked it a lot.

More photos of what they sell available in this blog post:

Read More

Moving on!

Hyundai City Outlet Dongdaemun Branch
(현대시티아울렛 동대문점)

 20, Jangchundan-ro 13-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul

02-2283-2015 | 11:00 ~ 23:00

Transport

 Subway Line 1 Dongdaemun (동대문）- 351.5m

 Subway Line 4 Dongdaemun (동대문）- 351.5m

This place is filled with department store brands:

Many brands were also on sale but I don't know these brands so I didn't really look into what they offer.

I also saw an O-lens stall here!!!!! Of course, I couldn't resist it :>

A smaller Lloyd stall was also available with OST Accessories right next to them.

OST Accessories is a relatively cheaper option if Llyod is too expensive for you.

They also sell watches here.

I didn't stay very long in this mall but I did visit their bookstore. It was huge, like Kinokuniya but with just one level. Worth to look around and see what sort of things they offer especially female magazines. It's because female magazines are very competitive, even in Malaysia, and they will try to up their sales with lots of freebies.

Moving on!

Doota Duty Free (두타면세점)

275, Jangchungdan-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul

10:30-23:00

Transport

Dongdaemun Station (Seoul Subway Line 1, 4), Exit 8.

Walk straight for approx. 200 m and turn right.

At night, this area can be quite happening. Many stalls will open for business whilst tourists flock in and out non-stop.

The first place that we went to was Shake Shack.

It was really amazing. It's nothing like any of the fast-food available here in Malaysia. The beef tastes lighter, the cheese doesn't taste weird and the vege are fresh! The fries are also amazinggggggg. Read more about them and their menu + pricing from the link below:

More photos of what they sell available in this blog post:

Read More

Afterwards, we walked into Doota Mall and was greeted by LINE Friends, specifically BT21 merchandises and clothing.

They were also having a promo at that time:

Doota Mall is more exciting upstairs as you find yourself being surrounded by duty-free items that are definitely cheaper out there. However, there are a few catches.

Please note that the items here are priced in USD. Even if you want to purchase using KRW, they will still use USD first then convert to KRW. Either way, it's still duty-free so it's cheaper than outside. Another thing to note is that many items here only have a promotional price if you buy by packages/set.

Other than that, you can also find certain sets (with promotional prices) that are only available here and nowhere else (or not many other places), such as the one below.

As I walked up the staircase to another level, I saw this advertisement and I giggled. In Malay language, 'rosak' means broken.

There's also a Pierrot Shopping here with gachas! I wanted one of those but the machine was a little wonky so I left with a huge disappointment... and cried in my bed. No I'm joking. I left while whining to my bf and then felt better.

That's all for this post!

Do check out my other posts!

You may find them helpful :D

Korea 2019 Directory

Hapjeong - (Read)

- Mapo Mandu (Read)

- The Recorder Store (Read)

Hongdae - (Read)

- Sigonggan Accessory (Read)

- Stonebrick (Read)

- Butter (Read)

- King's Cross (Read)

- Mint Heim (Read)
- Dog Cafe (Read)

Ewha - (Read)

- Eros Fortune Telling Cafe (Read)

- Woono Accessory (Read)

- Yooksam Naengmyeon (Read)
Gangnam - (Read)
- Eggdrop (Read)
- Kakao Friend (Read)

Itaewon

- Line Friends (Read)

Gyeongbokgung - (Read)

Dongdaemun - (Reading)

- Shake Shack (Read)

- Gong Cha (Read)

Gwangjang Market - (Read)
Namsan - (Read)

COEX Mall - (Read)

Myeongdong - (Read)

Airbnb - (30.7)
Others

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- Lotte Mart Seoul Station - (Read)