Dongdaemun (Average Shopping for clothings and accessories; ranking of cheaper goods to upscale goods: Good Morning City, A/PM, Migliore, Doota)

 

 Offers nearly 24 hour shopping and a chance to practice your bargaining skills. Doota, Migliore, A/PM, and Good Morning City are large shopping complexes that house hundreds of stalls operated by individuals and small businesses. This is fast fashion at its best. Trends change every few months and it's all reflected right here. Doota is a bit more upscale compared to the rest and forbids bargaining. It also houses some of the hottest local designers who operate their own shops or provide merchandise for them. The other places will have salespeople calling you, even grabbing your arm, to get you to buy something and because there are no price tags, you'll have to bargain your way to the price you want. A short sleeve t-shirt will usually cost about 18,000 won and a pair of jeans about 45,000 won. So not the cheapest, but there are some items you won't find elsewhere in the world. This is young Korean fashion, fast and cheap. Most of the clothing, however, can be repeatedly found over and over as you move from stall to stall. Sizes are ultra-slim and rarely do they offer anything larger than medium or large. Dongdaemun has its own size system where a medium actually means a small. Doota is open 10:30am until 5:00am the next day, except when they are closed between 11pm Sunday until 7pm Monday. The other stores have similar schedules.

 

Dongdaemun Bargaining:

 You have to bargain at all the shopping malls in Dongdaemun, except Doota which forbids bargaining. But some Doota merchants will throw in a free belt or other accessory if you buy several items. Doota is slightly more expensive, so try to buy the mass-produced items at Migliore or A/PM. Actually, Good Morning City is dying for customers and so their merchants often offer even better prices. You can generally bargain about 20% off. For example, they will usually say 55,000 won for a pair of jeans, but then you bargain down to 45,000 won and ask for a free belt (worth 5,000 to 15,000 won) if you buy two pairs or more. Generally, pick a store you like. That store will likely have items that are chosen by a single person and match your style. Try to buy several items at once to get a bigger discount and be sure to pay in cash. But don't overdo on the bargaining. A Korean television program did a hidden camera research program on bargaining in Dongdaemun and the type of people they overcharged the most were high school kids, not tourists. Actually, some foreigners bargained too much and one even made a storeowner almost cry. The economy is not great. Just pay what you think it's worth. Anyhow, you can try walking away once and see what price they offer. If they don't cut down and let you go, then that's the final price and you can always come back to that stall.