However, it is still a "must-visit" for the city buzz, good food, and overwhelming fashion-candies.
terminology-
1000 won = SGD 1.10
Galgooksu갈국수- chopped noodles
bbopki 뽑기- korean candy
ahjumma- auntie
Talking about good food, Myeong Dong Gyoza is one of the most famous outlets here.
Gyoza is actually meat dumplings, and as you can see, it's huge and soupy.
Honestly, i cannot remember how it taste like, but it was rather pleasant i think!
To fill our stomachs, we also ordered 갈국수 (galgooksu), which is chopped noodles. It is a very common noodle dish in Korea, just like our bak chor mee.
It was a really filling meal and it's really affordable as you can see!
8000 won (~ $10) for 10 huge dumplings!
it must have been really delicious. look at their faces.
Besides the food, Myeong Dong is also famous for its Cathedral.
I tried really hard to take a good photo, but the actual view of the church is really a lot nicer. The exterior is really detailed and the pictures really do not do justice to it.
The interior is really pretty, and there were so many photographers trying to get the center spot for photo taking.
There is a nice little park there and there were birds flying about. It is really a serene place.
Spotted 2 cute puppies outside the Cathedral.
So you noticed, I haven't talked much about the shopping in Myeong Dong. Honestly, there isn't much I have to say about the shopping there except those I have shared in the introduction.
It's a very commercialized area and it would be convenient to clear your cosmetics shopping list. Don't bother buying any clothes there, even the street stalls' goods are expensive. The souvenirs/local products lane is also rather overpriced, so do watch out for possible tourists scams!
Recommendations for the shops to visit there would be SPAO (the big brand carried by SM artistes like Super Junior and SNSD), Artbox, Lotte Mall/Young Plaza and the underground shopping. If you are a fan of kpop, you should visit one of the CD shops at the underground shopping, as they sell the albums at possibly the cheapest price around. It's usually about 2000-3000 won cheaper than the original price.
The underground shopping is accessible from the exit of subway station, but it's really not that easy to get around. There are way too many exits (to different locations, even) and I got confused with the subway area and the underground shopping area too. There are quite a lot of things to see in the underground shopping. I remember buying those traditional Korean bath scrubs, which is like a piece of green scrub with rough surface that you can slot into your hands. It's really good for exfoliation, and I'm using it ever since 2010. Take a good look around, but just remember to skip the apparel shops.
Besides shopping, there are some traditional snack you wouldn't want to miss on the streets of Myeong Dong.
This is called bbopki 뽑기, a korean candy made of caramel under charcoal heat. It is reallyyy sweet and crispy, and usually, there is a shape imprinted on it. If you manage to bite around the shape without breaking it, you can come back to the ahjumma and claim another free one!! It's really hard, but my friend managed to do it though!
The ahjumma is really nice but quiet, she would only smile and hardly speaks.
Then, there is also the familiar dragon beard sweet we all liked as a child. However, this korean one is rather different, they wrap nuts inside rather than pounded sugared peanuts.
The most special isn't the sweet itself, but the "performance" by the sweet maker!!! He will say a whole load of funny crap for an entire 5 mins or until the sweet is completed! He is really funny and speaks really fluently in English. Apparently, he can do the Japanese version of his gag too!
In a nutshell, Myeong Dong is a good place to experience the city ambience of Seoul, especially at night. The place is comprehensive of all the big brands, and it would be an addictive place if you are into them. However, it isn't the best place to get cheap deals and places like Ewha and Dongdaemun would be a better apparel shopping area!
