Daein Market in Gwangju is a wonderul example of the changes traditional markets have gone through to remain relavent in the modern world. Originally the community center for all living needs, including produce and household goods, the market lost much interest in the mid-1990s with the influx of large marts. From that point on, many shops began to close down as there was no business.
However, the market saw a revival in 2008 during the Gwangju Biennale. Many of the available shop spaces were rented out to host small art exhibitions, creating a unique art market. Thanks to this effort, Daein Market was designated a Cultural Attraction in 2013. The market continues to have a strong connection with the art that saved it, and the vendors and artists live and work together in harmony. The market also draws in a lot of interest from the community through their weekly night markets, taking place every Saturday.
Songjeong Station Market was opened in 1913, in connection with the opening of Gwangju-Songjeong Station. For many years, the market was the go-to-place for necessary items and produce, but with the increase of large marts in the 1990s, people began to visit traditional markets less and less. In order to increase the liveliness of Songjeong Station Market and showcase the difference between large marts and a traditional market, the entire space was redesigned around the theme of time.
The newly redesigned 1913 Songjeong Station Market, located just across the street from Gwangju-Songjeong KTX Station, has a bright appearance with modern-styled architecture and signboards detailing the history of the various shops. Visitors can enjoy all the classic market foods here, such as hotteok (hot griddle cakes), gyeran bap (rice with egg), and eomuk (fisk cake).
Blanc & Eclare is a fashion/cosmetic brand, which is known for a previous member of the famed girl-group SNSD: Jessica. Jessica participated in strategizing the design of the products such as sunglasses, and also all the way to designing jeans and cosmetics. You can see Jessica’s taste in design by looking at the silhouette and detail of the products and in what is characteristic of the store/brand’s product. In Korea, you can find branches of the store in Sinsadong Boulevard and Doota Duty Free Shop in Dongdaemoon. You can only, however, find skin care items such as cleansing foam, moisturizing cream, and facial masks in Doota Duty Free Store.
MoonShot is a professional cosmetic brand launched by YG Entertainment. It is a ‘beauty playground,’ and the name of the store means to launch a spaceship to the moon. The main focus for their products is to include YG Entertainment’s uniqueness, freedom, and express this through the use of varieties of colors. Their popular makeup products follow the concept, “ one source, multi use,” which means one product has multi usages, rather than having one chosen function of the product. In the flagship store of MoonShot, you can get your makeup service by the professional makeup artists that go by the name of, ‘Moon Shot Boys.’
Rare Market is a fashion select shop known for being owned by G-Dragon’s sister. The shop displays fashion brands that are hard to find in Korea, keeping everything up to date and trendy. It is known that “Rare,” which means hard to find in English, was given its name by G-Dragon himself. Often, the store hosts “YG Bazaar,” in which you can purchase fashion items worn by YG entertainment artists. In the shop, you can not only find jewelries and other types of fashion, but you can also find books, music albums, and items with wide varieties and price ranges.
Gentle Monster is Korea’s eyewear brand, which has been a viral sensation through collaborations with K-Wave celebrities. Gentle Monster’s flagship store, which is located in Sinsa District’s boulevard. The store has a white-tone exterior, which gives it a clean look/feel. It has a fairly large size entrance. Its first floor has a wide/open space, which looks quite captivating from outside. The concept of the store is, “house and healing,” and show rooms on each floors are designed to feel comfortable and is full of individuality/personality. The first and the second floors displays different varieties of eyeglasses collections, the third floor is a showroom that is designed to feel like you are in a luxurious bathroom. 4th and 5th floors are designed to be spaces for café/lounge, where people can take off after lounging/resting. In a recent collaboration with the actress, Gong Hyo-jin, the company presented the, “TYPE,” sunglasses. The actress then wore the, “TYPE,” sunglasses herself, in the Korean drama that starred her, called, <Jealousy Incarnate>.
The area around Ewha Womans University, Korea’s famous women’s university, is commonly called Ewha Womans University Fashion Street. This district features a number of stalls lining the streets selling fashion items, such as clothing, shoes and accessories, for young women. It offers a distinctive shopping experience, with all the fun of a “shop-crawl” from stall to stall and store to store along the narrow alleyways.
This street is a popular fashion destination for young women. Walking down from Ewha Womans University subway station to the main entrance of Ewha Womans University, and turning into an alley on the left, there are a number of street stalls . Furthermore, the alley on the right side of the main entrance to the university contains many designer shops as well. Recently, a few major shopping malls have taken the place of large and small stores set in alleys, offering consumers still more choice.
Another specialty of the fashion street that cannot be missed is the alterations services, where tailors have taken alterations to a new level of design expertise. The fashion street is also famous for its concentration of hair salons, meaning people can find a whole new look from head to foot.
Lyanature is a cosmetics store/brand. Lee Young Ae, who is the protagonist of the famed Korean drama, Dae Jang Geum, launched the skin care brand and the character is known for having transparent skin like white jade. If you are curious about how Lee Young Ae maintains her flawless skin, then Lyannature is your answer. (LYA) which is a short form of the star’s name in English was launched as the 100 % plant-based skincare brand. The fact that the skincare brand is also known to be used by her twin is makes it seem doubly trustworthy in the eyes of customers. At the flagship store, which is located in Sam Sung District, you can test all of the brand’s products. In the lounge, which is located in the 3rd floor of the flagship store, you can enjoy looking at the panoramic view of the Sam Chung district.
Lafesta Mall opened with the aim of putting Ilsan on the map as a shopping destination. In addition, it serves as an all-inclusive spot to enjoy cultural events and delicious foods. The mall is divided into six separate buildings over a 300m-long avenue, with each block having its own bright and vibrant design. The mall has everything from beauty shops to a food court to an eight-theater cinema!
Bellongjang is a local flea market open to visitors and the local community that takes place twice a month at Sehwa-ri, Jeju-Island. The flea market takes place on Saturdays from 11:00 to 13:00, except on the 5th,10th,15th, 20th, 25th and 30th of the month, when the 5-Day Market opens. Bellongjang's name originated from Jeju Island's expression "bellong," which means a shining light from distance.
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