On Saturday, with nothing else in particular planned, my friends and I realized that we needed to go shopping. I packed a few sets of clothes to Korea but with the seasons changing from winter to spring to summer, I was not that well equipped for my 3-4 months here. I mentioned before that the Ehwa is a good place to shop at local businesses, although it is mainly targeted towards a certain population, being cute-sy feminine clothing. However, a Korean friend of ours recommended a large shopping mall called Time Square. Yes, like the Time Square in New York City.
I have been told that New Jersey, where I live, is known for its shopping malls. And I do have to admit, that I have not been able to have such a wide variety of malls to choose from anywhere else aside from New Jersey. However, Korean malls are a serious business. This one in particularly would probably take me a few days to just explore, let alone actually spend time to shop in. One thing about Time Square is that it is known for having the world’s largest cinema screen. (Proof! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Times_Square_(shopping_mall) )
While we did not travel all the way to Time Square to watch a movie, we did have a pretty productive day looking for clothing to fit the changing weather. Since these stores weren’t local brands, we were able to find clothing that you might typically be browsing in America if Korean clothing is not your style or doesn’t fit you (a lot of styles are one-size fits all and Koreans tend to be on the smaller side). I was on a quest to find a swimsuit in hopes of going to the beach when the weather gets warmer and that was something I could only find in the mall, as smaller businesses don’t really sell that. You will be able to find brands like H&M, Addidas, and so on. Also, as a male, you will be able to find a lot more clothes catered to you, as most stores you see on the streets are targeted towards girls.
While Time Square was a bit far of a ride from Hanyang, I recommend it as a good place to go shopping in you are in a need for the types of clothing I talked about above. Time Square has a lot more than just clothing. Like I mentioned before, there’s a large cinema complex, food courts, shoe stores, grocery and electronic brands, and more. Be ready to spend a whole day walking around Time Square.
