Express Bus Terminal Underground Shopping Mall
The Express Bus Terminal Underground Shopping Mall is not at glamorous or well known as other tourist shopping spots in Seoul but if you are after the discount you should try to find The Express Bus Terminal Underground Shopping Mall.
Welcome to the world of underground shopping malls:
When people tell me they would go shopping in Myeongdong for the affordable prices, I usually throw up my hands in horror: As the most touristy shopping locations in Seoul, prices in Myeongdong have been corrected upwards to match the budgets of Japanese and Chinese tourists. What does not concern the tourists though might turn into a problem if you intend to stay in Seoul for a longer time. Personally I do also hate wasting money when I know where to find the exact same items for a lower price.
Surprisingly, The Express Bus Terminal Underground Shopping Mall stay mostly hidden from the eye of the tourist and in many cases expats residing in Korea also. However, these labyrinth like catacombs consists of corridors that reach until nowhere do actually sell everything you would find at other places as well. Clerks tend to be much nicer, less stressed and most of the time willing to give some extra discount on the already low prices if you kindly ask them. Surprisingly, I also found that the quality of the items sold at the Express Bus Terminal Underground Shopping Mall is quite decent compared to other places often the staff would mention that their products had been made in Korea, not in China, and I actually found that these items lasted longer than their similar items bought at Myeongdong, Dongdaemun, and so on.
The only downside to this shopping location is the language barrier. In most cases, the employees do only speak Korean and not a bit of English. If you really want to make the most out of it, try to bring someone who speaks Korean if you cannot do so yourself. However – as always – body language proves to be a handy tool in this kind of situation, too.
All in all, I really recommend this location for shopping, especially to students / travelers on a budget. The variation
of items is only second to another shopping area I will talk about in a future post – but apart from clothing, shoes,
accessory and cosmetics, there is even furniture and interior decorations sold here! Anything else you would need?
TIP: Just in case you are running out of money, there is a decent number of global ATMs located inside the station, so keep your cash at home and your card ready. In general though, payment via cash is preferred.
I went there today. It’s much cheaper than Dongdaemun and more stores than Dongdaemun.
Highly Recommended!!