November 09, 2009. Before we headed off to the airport for our flight that evening back to Manila, the family decided to go shopping in some of Seoul’s shopping districts. We went to two, Dongdaemun and Itaewon.

Dongdaemun Market is near its namesake ancient landmark, Dongdaemun, or the Great East Gate. It is apparently the largest shopping district in Seoul with over 26 shopping malls and tens of thousands of stores that sell everything you can think of. Unfortunately, the shopping malls were closed when we were there (not that we would be able to get around much, given that we only had an hour or so to stay). We ended up in Pyounghwa Clothing Market since we were looking for things we could conveniently bring home to the Philippines for ourselves, and for friends and relatives as pasalubong.

The place sold, obviously, things one can wear, from socks to undergarments to coats and ties to hats and caps. Since it was nearing the winter season, most of the clothes available at that time were coats and other clothes appropriate for cold weather, ergo, clothes not appropriate in the Philippines.

Itaewon is a district of Seoul that also has a shopping strip. Since the area is home to a number of foreign embassies and consulates, including an American military office or base of sorts, many of the shops and restaurants in Itaewon cater to foreigners and tourists. Many of the pedestrians and other shoppers in the area are tourists. Because of that, I would assume prices in Itaewon are more expensive than other marketplaces in the city. It also seemed to be less crowded than the large and traditional marketplaces and shopping districts of Seoul. Unlike the other traditional shopping districts in Seoul, Itaewon offers familiar Western brands.