Autumn 2024. Ten years after my first trip to Seoul in 2014, I am returning to the Republic of Korea, better known as South Korea. Not solo this time, but with Oriol, who has never been to Korea. On the itinerary: flying with Qatar Airways to Incheon via Doha, the capital Seoul, the historic city of Gyeongju, Busan, Jeju Island and a second stint in Seoul, where we are joined by Sehyeon. We’re spending two weeks in South Korea. The ROK is such a popular destination now. Will we experience overtourism?  

Seoul has a reputation for being quite a shopping heaven and in Seoul Myeongdong (명동) or Myeong-dong is the neighbourhood for shopping, any guidebook will tell you. So we went.

Presenting Myeongdong

Myeong-dong, meaning ‘Bright Neighbourhood’, is an area in Jung District, located between Chungmu-ro, Eulji-ro, and Namdaemun-ro. 

In 2023, it was ranked the ninth most expensive shopping street globally. The area is recognised for its two historically significant sites, the Myeongdong Cathedral and Myeongdong Theater. Performances at Myeongdong Nanta Theater are also popular attractions.

Myeongdong covers 0.99 m² with a population of 3,409.

History of the neighbourhood

Prior to the Japanese colonial period, the area known as Myeongdong today was referred to as Myŏngnyebang, Myŏngnyebanggol, or Chonghyŏn. 

It was considered part of the southern section of the Joseon capital, Hanseong. In 1914, during the early Japanese colonial period, the area was renamed Meiji-cho, after the Japanese Emperor Meiji. 

Subsequently, influenced by the growing commerce in the neighboring Chungmuro area, it evolved into a more commercial district. After independence in 1946, it officially became the district of Myeongdong.

Following the Korean War and into the 1960s, the economy flourished, and the financial sector from Namdaemun-ro and Euljiro gradually expanded into Myeongdong. 

Urban renewal and the construction of high-rise buildings contributed to the area’s prosperity. Numerous department stores, shopping centers, restaurants, upscale shops, and boutiques established their businesses in Myeongdong, making it a popular destination for young and trendy individuals in the 1970s.

In addition to being a major commercial and financial hub, Myeongdong has historically served as a venue for political demonstrations and protests, particularly during the tumultuous years of the 1980s and 1990s. 

Myeongdong Cathedral has been a frequent location for these gatherings and continues to be so today.

Since March 2000, Myeongdong has been designated as a special Tourism Promotion Area and is included on the official Seoul City Bus tour’s main route.

Myeongdong Shopping Street

Myeongdong Shopping Street (명동쇼핑거리) contains mid-to-high-priced retail stores and international brand outlets, including Lacoste, Polo Ralph Lauren, H&M, Zara, Bulgari, Louis Vuitton, and Korean cosmetics brands like Nature Republic, Missha, The Face Shop, and Skin Food. 

The district features several large shopping centers and department stores, including Lotte Department Store, Shinsegae Department Store, Migliore, M Plaza and Noon Square. 

In 2012, Lotte Department Store opened a new store in Tianjin in the People’s Republic of China, featuring a replica of Myeongdong’s street, complete with outlets of Missha, The Face Shop, and Skin Food.

Myeongdong attracts a significant floating population of approximately 2 million people daily. 

In terms of floor space rents, it is one of the most expensive shopping districts globally. The area offers a diverse range of amenities, including hotels, restaurants, cinemas, theaters, and historical sites. A poll conducted in 2011 revealed that 13.4% of foreign visitors considered shopping in Myeongdong their favorite activity in Seoul.

Myeongdong Underground Shopping Center

Myeongdong Underground Shopping Center – Korea uses American English spelling –  is a popular underground shopping center located in the neighbourhood. 

It connects Myeongdong with City Hall through an underground passage and offers a variety of goods and services similar to those found on the streets of Myeongdong, often at slightly lower prices. 

From nail shops to cosmetic stores, you can find almost anything you need in this underground shopping center. The nearest subway station to Myeongdong Underground Shopping Center is Euljiro 1-ga Station (Subway Line 2).

Shops we visited

Full of expectations to find fun clothing items which we wouldn’t find back home in Belgium, we started exploring Myeongdong. 

Oriol was more on the hunt than I was. He wanted fun T-shirts, some jumpers perhaps. And he had a list with skin care products he wanted. I wasn’t really looking for anything, except for underwear. I like to buy local brands of underwear. 

One brand we had encountered on the internet beforehand is Topten10. Topten10 is a Korean fast-fashion brand not unlike Uniqlo. The shop we found in Myeongdong was chaotic and unpleasant to browse. 

Swiftly, we determined T-shirts were hard to find. That may sound bizarre, but we ‘only’ saw T-shirts for underneath jumpers. T-shirts as underwear, not outerwear. Because of the time of year: September and October?

Another determination was: no men’s underwear? In a H&M / Zara / Uniqlo type of shop? No underwear? Huh… 

We also shopped at ABC Mart, a Japanese store brand selling sneakers and streetwear. 

For cosmetics and skin care products, we went to every Olive Young branch we could find. 

TV brands

Now something peculiar: we saw a BBC Earth shop. Yes, BBC Earth has its own clothing line. It’s a thing in South Korea, because we saw National Geographic clothing and Discovery Channel clothing called Discovery Expedition. 

Later during the trip, a bartender in Busan told us Koreans are big on brands. Well, I guess they are. Real of fake, they want their Adidas, Nike and Polo Ralph Lauren items. But also more ‘forgotten’ brands such as Umbro, Gola and Kangol to name three. 

Lotte

After being a bit disappointed by ‘core Myeongdong’, we ventured to Lotte Young Plaza, Avenuel and Lotte Department Store. Three connected department stores. 

Lotte Corporation is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation, and the fifth-largest chaebol in South Korea.

A chaebol (재벌), literally. ’rich family’ or ‘financial clique’, is a large industrial South Korean conglomerate run and controlled by an individual or family. A chaebol often consists of multiple diversified affiliates, controlled by a person or group. 

Lotte was founded in 1948 by Korean businessman Shin Kyuk-ho in Tokyo. Shin expanded Lotte to his ancestral country, South Korea, with the establishment of Lotte Confectionery in 1967.

Lotte Corporation consists of over 90 business units employing 60,000 people engaged in such diverse industries as candy manufacturing, beverages, hotels, fast food, retail, financial services, industrial chemicals, electronics, IT, construction, publishing, and entertainment.

Lotte runs additional businesses in China, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Uzbekistan, India, the United States, the United Kingdom, Kazakhstan, Russia, the Philippines, Myanmar, Pakistan, Poland where Lotte bought Poland’s largest candy company Wedel from Kraft Foods in June 2010, Australia and New Zealand. 

The source of the company’s name is German. Shin Kyuk-ho was impressed with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe‘s ‘The Sorrows of Young Werther‘ (1774) and named his newly founded company Lotte after the character Charlotte in the novel.

Three times Lotte

Lotte Young Plaza, Avenuel and Lotte Department Store are department stores. But unlike INNO in Belgium, El Corte Inglés in Spain or Meyer‘s in Australia, the Lotte department stores only assemble existing big name brands.   

So fo instance, there’s no underwear section. Yes, I’m obssessed. There are just floors and floors of shops within a shop. I expected thematic floors: luggage, men’s clothing, women’s clothing, kids, cosmetics, food court, stationary, underwear and sleepwear, homewear, kitchen, … but no. 

So again, we we disappointed.

So?

So, you can guess where this is going. In this first stint in Seoul – we’ll be back after Gyeongju, Busan and Jeju Island – we were very underwhelmed by shopping in Seoul. 

Top Tip

Always bring your passport for immediate discount. 

South Korea 2024

1. QUESTION | Should you be scared of travelling to South Korea?.
2. REVIEW | Qatar Airways – economy – Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner – Brussels to Doha.
3. QATAR | Hamad International Airport (DOH) in Doha.
4. REVIEW | Qatar Airways – economy – Airbus A350 – Doha to Seoul / Incheon.
5. SOUTH KOREA | Landing at Incheon, retrieving the Wowpass and taking the AREX to Seoul Station.
6. REVIEW | Fraser Place Namdaemun Seoul near City Hall.
7. SEOUL | Deoksugung Palace by day.
8. SEOUL | Admiral Yi Sun-sin – King Sejong the Great – Gyeongbokgung Palace – National Folk Museum SEOUL | Admiral Yi Sun-sin – King Sejong the Great – Gyeongbokgung Palace – National Folk Museum.
9. SEOUL | Bukchon Hanok Village – Insadong Culture Street – Jogyesa Temple – Gwangjang Market – Cheonggyecheon Stream.
10. SEOUL 2024 | Dongdaemun Design Plaza.