DDP and Hongdae

So, it seems that I have found my favorite place in Korea: Dongdaemun, and Hongdae. The Dongdaemun Design Plaza or DDP has such a futuristic and creative type of feeling that makes me feel right at home. There are many malls there and even more restaurants there. There is also a Russian district which is a plus since all of my close friends are Russian. It somehow always feels like a fashion show is going on there. I will admit that compared to American street fashion, Korea is definitely much better but the people that like to hang out near DDP are definitely on a different level.

The main building in Dongdaemun is a beautiful building that is extremely long and the architecture of this building makes me want to be a nerd every time I go there. Every time I am there I go on about how beautifully it was designed, how much detail and effort the designers might have put into that building, I think my friends are absolutely tired of me.

Also, my favorite mall in all of Seoul is also there. It’s the DDP mall. What is special about this mall is that it opens at 8 pm and closes at 5 am – no you’re not reading this wrong it opens at 8 pm in the evening and closes at 5 in the morning. This mall is filled with independent boutiques and also they do not accept credit cards so you have to carry cash on you – I once spent $400 in the span of 3 hours. Also, some of the stores are similar to wholesale stores so you have to buy two of the same item, you can get different colors if you want. Honestly, I could here every day but with my nonexistent impulse control, I would probably buy half the place.

And then there’s Hongdae. Hongdae is honestly the definition of perfection, there are hundreds of stores cafes and restaurants there. You could spend hours walking around, and best of all thousands of stores with cheap but good quality items where you can spend money without feeling guilty. I think Hongdae has the most “hip and young” place in Seoul. I think just walking around Hongdae makes you feel happy, there’s definitely some sort of energy there that does the trick. I don’t know how but it seems that every time my friends and I are kind of bored and have nothing better to do we always end up in Hongdae. There also at least one bubble tea place in every street, which is great!!. I could spend an entire day there and still not feel bored. 

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