Korean Job Discussion Forums

[vdowd]

I have been in Korea for about 15 months now and am returning to Canada for short holiday. I live about 4 hours from Seoul and have visited there several times for a few hours. I reallly have not seen too much of Korea. I work 6 days a week and the trip is pretty exhausting. To be honest most of the time I spent in Seoul was consumed with finding western food products (cheese, please). In addition for 7 of the months I have worked in Korea, I worked 2 jobs (legally) so that did not leave much time for a personal life.

I am becoming stressed about returning home with some interesting gifts for friends and family. I've been told that Insadong is a great place to find traditonal Korean items but I have never been there. Much as I want some wonderful gifts, I really want to get home as soon as possible so that I can have some down time before returning to Korea. My one year contract was extended to 14 months, then to 15 months. Since I hope to return to Korea in September, I want to spend as much time at home as possible, since I have a lot of people to visit in a vast area.


I will be travelling to Seoul on July 30th, arriving around 12-1pm and want to do all my shopping in 1 day in Insadong (sp?)- is this feasible? I would be looking for some unique gifts - a traditional mask, pottery, handcarved jewellery boxes, handmade traditional toys, etc. Any good places that you know of? I have a large and demanding family!

I was thinking that if all went perfectly, with a little help from my friends at Dave's, this could be done. Since I have to travel the morning of the 3oth (Wednesday), I would only have that afternoon and eveinign to shop. I want desperately to catch the fligh in the early after noon of the 31st (July).

So I would probably need to stay somewhere overnight. Can any one recommend a hotel (not to expensive but comfortable and convenient) to either Insadong or transport to Incheon airport?

My director, who has previously not even mentioned my return home, has suddenly decided he needs to know my travel date so that he can book a flight to Canada by tomorrow!!

Thanks for any info you can give my re: Insadong, shopping, hotel, etc.

Victoria in Iksan

[Dan]

I'd love to show you around the place if i were still in korea --;

perhaps someone on the board has the time, otherwise, i'm not sure what is the best way to describe insadong.

Worst case scenario, take a taxi, or the seoul subway to station Jongno 5 ga on the purple line and ask for directions to insadong, which is a 5 minute walk.

there are many foreigners there if you need further assistance ^^

[K-in-C]

You can definitly pick up all the stuff you mentioned, and more, in Insadong. There are some great items at good prices. It's a lovely spot to spend a day.

Have fun and have a safe trip home.

Best Regards,

Kate in Canada

K-in-C

[Hotel Cheonan]

It can definitely be done in an hour, especially if you know what you're looking for. I went there for Christmas shopping and found many gifts, but I went not knowing exactly what I wanted to get. There's also a great tea house around, perhaps someone knows the exact location.

[waterbaby]

Check out the Tour2Korea website for info on Insadong.

I agree with Kate in Canada - you can definitely get everything you want very quickly in Insadong.

If you can read Korean or have Korean friends, more info here at the Insadong website.

Cheers,
wb

[helly]

Insadong or Namdaemun.

Wait! Traditional vs. Crap? Hold-on, hear me out.

Much of the stuff you buy in Insadong is exactly the same that you can buy in the wholesale markets in Namdaemun. In fact, that is where many of the shop owners in Insadong get their supply. Don't go to the street markets in Namdaemun, you need to find the big warehouse style buildings. Huge, dark, difficult to navigate, but worth it. Nobody knows the difference.

I did this with a friend of mine who ran a shop in Insadong years ago. She didn't want me to "waste" my money in her store and took me to her supplier.

Their are some authentic goods in Insadong and if you need the real thing, go upscale. Tongin is good (yep, the stuff looks the same but it really isn't.) Gana Art Center and it's spin-off (can't remember the name)

Also, some of the calligraphy stores in Insadong are the real deal. Nothing better than bringing home a 4 foot long calligraphy brush for someone you love.

[kangnamdragon]

You can also get the same stuff at the duty free shop in the airport.

[marcy]

Definetly hit up Insadong, you can get all the things you mentioned and more. I'm so sorry that I too will be out of town but the street is really easy to navigate so don't despair, an afternoon will be enough time. Insadong is also a nice way to spend an afternoon, much more enjoyable than a duty free shop...