Dongdaemun Fabric Market

The infamous Dongdaemun Fabric Market met all my expectations and more! There were to many vendors and fabrics staked floor to ceiling. It was OVERWHELIMG to say the least. I felt like an epileptic playing the slots in vegas; I have used this simile before about Babies'R us and this was worse! I have never encountered so many swatches, stacks, and rolls of fabric it put Joann's Fabrics to shame! It's a combination of 3 buildings each consisting of 5 stories and about a bazillion vendors lined up close together. There was more space in some areas and less in others; stairs, elevators, and escalators were around making the search for treasures feel like a labyrinth. It was exciting but no so thrilling for a 9 month old boy. We rode the metro to the market and he always loves the train. He was such a good traveler; he does love to get out of the house. I'm proud of my patient lil guy, even on hot humid days when mama gets lost, he hardly ever cries. He even fell asleep on the way home.

I think I have found my new favorite subway station, there was no one at the stop! Hangangjin station is in Itaewon. It is conveniently located close to the booth exit behind Building J in Hannam Village.  Exit the booth, walk up the hill, take a right, and within five minutes you are right at exit 3 of Hangangjin station.  Catch line 6 to Dongmyo and you can either transfer to line 1 and ride one stop to Dongdaemun station and then take exit 9 and you're there. What I tried to do was exit at Dongmyo instead of waiting for the next train because it's only a 10 min walk to Dongdaemun station above ground. This was a bad idea because I found bad directions from another website. I would have been lost if a friend of mine was not there to show me the way. She saved me in a big way because I had walked in the other direction. I wasted valuable time especially walking in the heat with a baby. The Correct way to get there if you wanted to walk and save time is take exit 7 out of Dongmyo station walk straight for 8-10 minutes. You will see a Korean temple looking building keep walking straight across the street.  Then you will pass Dongdaemun exit 9 and just a few steps pass the exit is an entrance to the market to your left. It doesn't matter which way you choose to get to Dongdaemun exit 9, just know the market is in close proximity to that exit.



Textiles, Jewelry, beads, buttons, zippers, leather, fur, lace, ribbon... you name it and it was there. All except what I was looking for, terry cloth and flannel. Not many vendors speak English so it was hard to try to ask them were to find the materials I wanted. I know flannel was there but I don't know how to pick it out by just feeling a little sample of the material. It will just take some time and many trips back to search the whole place to find the specific items on my shopping list. 





Amidst the chaos it seemed as though there was some organization, but not much. Each floor has a specific purposes and the vendors were grouped by what materials were their prime sellers. Tweed in one area, fur in another, jewelers and beads in another; it seemed as though many booths had a little of everything and trying to find the best deal was hard not exactly easy. In these places it's always good to barter so you do get the bargain. I found a place I liked and someone commented about it on Facebook called, Happy Quilt. It is the preferred vendor for most of the quilters. They also seem to have the best prices. They are on the fifth floor, section F, Building B. They also sell legitimate Vera Bradley material for 4,000 won/yd. I will be hitting this up for sure!



I cannot wait to go back! Now that I know the lay of the land and how to get there I will not waste any time. I'm trying to scope out prices to help my mom work on some projects. I think she needs to come to Korea to see this place for herself! Dongdaemun area itself has other clothing markets and a night district. There is so much to explore in this area alone, that it will be hard to see it all in 18 months. Below is a picture of the name on the building, it's huge and you can't miss it! I just took this picture because I wanted to know the Hangul name of the market for future reading.







Fortunately it was a perfect day the sun came out to greet us,  met new friends, went on an adventure, and next time I will achieve my quest. My back and feet will tell you it was a rough day but Toby and I made it through. I hope next time I get better photos but my mind and eyes were racing all over the place I'm glad I remembered to take photos.

-Aly G