Crafty DIYer's Paradise: Dongdaemun Fabric & Craft Market

Imagine a warehouse with tiny booths packed so full they look ready to explode. Imagine each booth fill with fabrics and yarn and beads. Imagine narrow little aisles stretching out into an impossible maze. Multiply this by a thousand and put it into one six floor building. Voila, you have Seoul's Dongdaemun Fabric and Craft Market. It's a total sensory overload of colors and textures and people, but for the crafty DIYer, it's basically heaven.

Living in Korea, I often miss the giant craft superstores from home. I've always been artsy, and the latest DIY trend that's been facilitated by the likes of Pinterest has kept me busy with dreaming up all the amazing things I want to make. Unfortunately, supplies are limited in my area -- if craft stores exist, I have yet to find them. Stationery stores abound, so anything paper-craft related isn't hard to track down. Art supplies are also easy, so I haven't had to go without good paints or drawing pencils. One thing that was notably missing, however, was any form of textiles and jewelry-making stuffs. I like to tell myself each winter that this is the year I'm going to finish knitting that scarf and maybe learn a fancy (beginner) pattern. Honestly, the lack of yarn availability was really harming my grand daydreams of starting scarves that I never get around to finishing.

Enter Dongdaemun's fabric and craft market, with both of these things (and many others) aplenty.

I'm not exaggerating when I say Dongdaemun's Fabric and Craft Market has pretty much anything craft-related that you'd be looking for. Any kind of fabric (including a massive section just for hanboks), endless skeins of yarn, giant carts of ribbons, all the pendants and charms and beads you could possibly want... That's just the beginning. In addition to all of that, you can buy things already made. They sell clothes, little decorative lace collars, leather belts, blankets, dishes, embellished hats and jackets... It's insane.

See? I wasn't kidding. They have -everything-.

The last time I went on a craft supply run, we arrived around 11am and the place was already bustling with shoppers and supply deliveries. We had to dodge quite a few delivery men as they plowed down the narrow aisles with giant bolts of fabric on their backs.

Nearly all the stalls are packed full like this.

The prices at Dongdaemun are great -- definitely cheaper than what I would expect to pay back home. I needed fuzzy white fleece for my Halloween costume last year, and when I finally found the right fabric, I was happy to hear that a yard (the smallest amount they would give me) was only ₩7,000 (~$6.60 USD). To make it better, the amount given to me was definitely more than a yard.

Need to replace any buttons? I'm 99% sure you could find any button ever here.

The biggest draw of Dongdaemun for me, however, is all the jewelry-making supplies. I used to have a fierce obsession with seed beads and even had a small bead loom for making bracelets. As I got older, I was way more into buying chains and charms and stringing things together. Not only am I able to make basically the exact same necklaces as I would find at Forever21 or Urban Outfitters, but it's a hell of a lot cheaper.

We spent a really, really long time searching through the little trays of charms and beads, carefully picking out ones we wanted. About ₩15,000 (~$14 USD) later, I had everything to make several pairs of earrings and new charms for some chains I already had at home. Not bad! 

Overwhelming, but awesome.

My jewelry supply haul! 

To get to Dongdaemun:

Dongdaemun Station, Seoul Metro Lines 1 and 4, exit 9. Walk straight out of exit 9, the entrance will be on your left. See the photos below as a reference: 

   

Tips and information:

• Hours: Monday-Saturday, 8:00am-6:00pm, though be aware that many shops start to close by 5pm.
• Bring cash, as most vendors prefer that / don't accept cards.
• Shop around -- a lot of the vendors sell similar products, but some definitely offer lower prices. 
• The building is divided into four sections, lettered A, B, C, and D, so keep an eye on those are you walk around. (It might also help you not get too lost...)

Photo Blog: Time Warp at the Seoul Folk Flea Market

If you were take a Goodwill thrift store and mix it with equal parts antique shop and estate sale, then throw in a pinch of distinctly Asian flair, the result would be the Seoul Folk Flea Market. Some friends and I stumbled across this amazing market by accident -- we'd set out looking for a completely different market and managed to get completely lost. Luckily, losing our way was the best possible thing to have happened because the market we did find greatly exceeded our expectations.

Though I'm slightly upset that it took me two years to find this market, it's probably also for the best. If I'd known about all the vintage and antique things in that that building holds when I was first decorating my apartment in 2011, it would've been dangerous... That being said, this is definitely a new go-to spot for gifts and souvenirs. 

The flea market was only recently put into an actual building in 2008, with its origins being in the street vendors that used to cluster around that area of the Cheonggyecheon Stream. Now it boasts hundreds of vendors and offers a staggering range of items.

Lucky for us (and you), a respectable amount of effort has been put into making this market organized and tourist-friendly. As we walked around, we noticed that the different areas of the market are color-coded, as you can see in the pictures above, from the signs hanging above the aisles to the tarps that pulled down over the booths. Here's a basic breakdown of the zones: 

• Yellow = household goods, personal goods, vintage clothes, accessories.
• Orange = vintage clothes, shoes, bags.
• Green = antiques, used goods.
• Red = food court!
• Indigo = tools, bicycle accessories, repair items.
• Blue = clothes (sports, men's, military).
• Purple = leisure, cameras, clothing.

Aside from the obviously ancient antiques that makes the market kind of feel like a museum, looking through most of the booths was like a bizarre time warp through the past 50 years. I say bizarre because of the number of very American (and generally Western) items that were being sold, which I can only assume are leftovers from the Korean War and Korea's subsequent modernization. The entire building is just steeped in nostalgia, making any attempt to shop with purpose nearly impossible due to the overwhelming desire to just carefully look at everything.

Directions and information: 

• Sinseoldong Station, Exit 10. 
• Walk straight out of the exit and around the corner on the left. You'll make a left at the Shinhan Bank. From there, look for signs and little lanterns hanging along the streetlights. The market will be on your left! (If you cross Cheonggyecheon Stream, you've gone too far.) 
• Hours: 10:00am - 7:00pm. Closed on every 2nd and 4th Tuesday. (Note: Many vendors close early, so I would advise going before 5:00pm.) 

Visiting Osan's 221 Year Old Traditional Market

This blog entry was originally published on the Aclipse Blog, which is produced by current Chungdahm Learning teachers in Korea. The blog features entries on current events around Korea, advice for incoming teachers, and the best spots sightseeing, shopping, and eating. The original entry can be viewed here. It has been edited slightly for content. For more information about Aclipse and Chungdahm Learning, click here. 

The first weekend of every month, Osan hosts their monthly traditional market, so last month, some fellow Chungdahm teachers and I went to check it out. Traditional markets are very common in Korea, and any length of time spent in this country needs to include a visit to a market. So what makes Osan's market so special that we traveled a couple hours to get there? Well, according to the great internet, it's been around for over 200 years. A mention of it exists in a publication from 1792 called Hwasong Kyolriji, proving it's been around for a very, very long time. 

The entrance to the market down an alley.

Osan's huge market is set up next to a large street near Osan Station, and operates the 3rd through the 8th of every month. Countless vendors set up shop under tents and umbrellas, selling literally everything you could imagine. 

After wandering through the crowded maze in the alleyways, we came to the main building. Osan's market is primarily housed in this large open-air building, but on the bigger weekends, vendors and their wares spread out into every available open space inside and outside the building. You'll find actual storefronts inside the building, selling the same variety of products, as well as a number of restaurants. 

It was in here that we found some more interesting items for sale... 

Okay, so this isn't really that unusual...

But... this is something new.

We asked what the little worms were for -- my guess was fishing? Turns out, these are silkworms. The little jar had samples of silk, so customers could see what they would get from raising some of these worms.

For me, the draw of these markets is always the fresh produce. As someone who frequents farmers markets back home, I love being able to support local farmers instead of big grocery superstores. Plus, the produce at the markets is typically cheaper and better quality than in the stores! The best apples I've found in Korea have always been from a local farmer selling them at a market. 

My purchases: apples and raspberries. 

These markets, I've found, are also a great spot to hunt down some plants to decorate your new Korean apartment. A couple of my friends picked up little succulents to add some green life to their homes.

It didn't take long before the smells coming from the food tents were making our stomachs growl, so we set out in search of something to eat. While the street food was tempting, one friend mentioned a local brunch spot, which I immediately agreed with. Street food is delicious, but I needed brunch. 

We stopped into a spot called Homestead Coffee and had what I would call respectable-although-not-entirely-authentic brunch. To explain, the "American Brunch" had an egg on top of the two pancakes, with a slice of cheese melted in the middle... Since that's how they decided it should be eaten, I gave it a go. It was fine, but just not the same. I need my syrupy pancakes. 'E' for effort, Homestead. We tried a couple of their sandwiches as well, which were unexpectedly spicy, but still good. Overall, it still hit the spot.

After our successful trek through the market and a tasty brunch, we wandered around a bit more, checking out the Engrish shirts we could find in different stores. One last stop was necessary, and that was for some dessert, in the form of hotteok. A traditional market is an ideal place to find delicious street food, and even though we did brunch, I was happy to make room for some street food dessert. 

With our plants and fresh fruit in hand, we headed back to Incheon, completely worn out from the long day of walking around. If you're ever looking for a great traditional market experience or just in the mood to pick up some produce/cacti/silkworms, Osan is the place to go! 

Have you been to any traditional markets in Korea? What experiences have you had? Leave a comment below!