Shopping is one of Seoul`s main attractions but it can
also be a hassle. At the markets, like Dongdaemun,
you should haggle. Make no mistake about it, if you
pay the first asking price the vendors will be
laughing all the way to the bank as soon as you leave
the store. Most shopkeepers keep a calculator handy to
help you bargain across the language barrier.
However : beware !!! There is a "Korean price" and a
"foreigner price", and of course the foreigners price
is much, much higher. Go with Korean friends if
possible, and if u see something u like, register it
without even making direct eye contact, and ask your
friends to go back and bargain for it. Im not kidding.
If you so much as look at an item, let alone check the
fit, the vendors will be on to you and refuse to lower
their (inflated, tourist) price. You have been warned.
The second thing to remember is that when you buy dirt
cheap clothes, dont expect them to last forever. You
really do get what you pay for. You can pick up a
funky shirt for a few dollars but dont be heartbroken
when the stitching comes undone the next week.
And lastly, more fashionable virtualtourists might be
disappointed with the deisgns on offer - Seoul
specialises in cheap clothes and fast alterations, but
it is NOT a style capital (as you may have noticed on
the crowded streets) .You can find stuff if you
look...hard...but if you were expecting the kind of
crazy cuts and colors of Tokyo`s Harajuku district,
you may be disappointed. Dongdaemun does cheap and
cheerful, and occassionally funky, but its not exactly
cutting edge.
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on Feb 26, 2005
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