Dongdaemun

Dongdaemun (Great East Gate) is an ancient gate from the days of the walled city of Seoul, most recently rebuilt in 1869. It stands at the end of Dongdaemun marketplace, which contains three large malls and about ten thousand small open-air stalls.

Here are two views of Dongdaemun, first looking at its south face (in the distance, above the girl's head), then looking at the east.




Another landmark in the neighborhood is Cheonggye Stream, a natural and man-made stream that bisects Dongdaemun market and the whole downtown area. It was filled with concrete in the sixties, due to sanitation and flooding concerns, but was restored in 2005.


While shopping, I was looking for two things: shoelaces for my Rocs, and a mustache trimmer, for my mustache, which is looking pretty bushy about now. There must be over a hundred stalls that sell shoes (not an exaggeration) but I found only ONE that had shoelaces! The only trimmers I found were cut-your-own-hair kits "as seen on TV."


For lunch, I had a corn dog with the French fries built in; I also had some cold, crisp watermelon slices and a tasty pastry--total cost USD 3.50.