Posts Tagged ‘shopping in korea’

What makes Insa-dong unique?
According to Seoul’s Best 100 guide, ‘in 1998 Insa-dong was designated a traditional culture district in order to preserve its look of a traditional Korean market place’. On Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays, it is a car-free zone. Many Sundays, festivals are held here.

How to get to Insa-dong
Take Seoul Subway line 3, and get off at Anguk Station. Head out Exit 6 and walk straight for about a minute, and you’ll pass a tourist information booth. You’ll see the main courtyard-style street of Insa-dong almost immediately after on your left.

What to do Insa-dong

Rub the frog statues for good luck as you enter the area.

Shop: most people come to this area to peruse the copious amounts of souvenirs. A lot of the merchandise looks mass-produced to me, but there are some stores with some good finds. Look for traditional Korean paper dolls there; they are quite beautiful and tastefully constructed. I also found chopsticks, chopstick rests, fancy tissue box covers, placemats, and tea strainers to bring home for my friends and family. The prices were reasonable, you can bargain a bit and the gifts were a big hit back home.









Drink tea: you can find many traditional Korean tea houses where you can sip on tea, relax and take a break from shopping.

They have tried to maintain an old-world feel in Insa-dong and a lot of the signs are in Korean only…even Starbucks.

Have you ever been to Insa-dong? Did you find or do anything special while you were there?