Taking a walk around the newly transformed Dongdaemun Area during 꽃샘추위

Yes...today was 꽃샘추이. I think I must've been crazy to take a walk...in a weather like this today...and where? Dongdaemun and...look what I encountered....:

--> What looked like a landed alien spaceship afar....turned out to be the soon-to-be-opened (eta. March, 2014) Dongdaemun Design Plaza & Park. I vividly remembered those days when Dongdaemun Stadium (동대문동장) majestically stood there a decade ago. Yes...those days still lingered in my mind. 

But now...the used to be dilapidated and outdated Stadium is GONE. The silver-color coated plaza has replaced the old nostalgic stadium. Hmm..I think it looks more like a..well...spacecraft for me...at a first glance. Sure enough..I read some reviews stating that this will be a new hub for relaxation, leisure, and refuge in the midst of the ever sprawling area like Dongdaemun.

Then..I bumped into this seemingly new department store (Lotte Fitin). I also recollect the days when the area seemed to be so well....neglected a couple of years ago..but now...this modern architectural design seems to mingle seamlessly with the Dongdaemun Design Plaza--which happens to be right in front of it! 

And then...here are other high-rise malls (specially designed for clothing) that seemed to me ..sprung out of nowhere. Yep, it's been like a year or more..since the last time I checked in here:)

I am sorry, Eyra..for asking me to accompany your Daddy to take a walk in the area. Yes..today is 꽃샘추위 ..(kkotsaemchui) where the Winter (that was supposed to be gone) suddenly came back out of nowhere due to her envy *hatred* towards the warmth embrace of Spring. ㅋㅋㅋ

wow...I simply could not believe that Dongdaemun has transformed into a modern area like this one. What I mean by modern is sure...simply based on the color (grey and silver) coated mashed-up buildings:) But..hey..it's cleanly organized...which is completely different from what it used to be (let say) even..5 years ago. 

I guess...it all went down to the fact that the newly built Dongdaemun Design Plaza and Park has brought  a new standard of what a shopping and cultural area should be like.

Hope ...when the plaza and park are officially opened...it fills the expectation.

Litte Moscow...Little Mongolia...Central Asia...in Seoul

...getting out of exit no. 5 at Dongdaemun Culture Park subway station, I was exposed at the strikingly different banners that adorned the streets and store banners all over the neighborhood. Yep..I was at ....what people refer to as "Central Asia Village" in Seoul.  

At a first glance...one might not see any difference that this place offered. But..once I was walking further deeper...the more I realized that adjacent or along with Hangeul....I could notice the reasons as to why this neighborhood is dubbed 'Little Moscow...Little Mongolia...Central Asia....neighborhood in Seoul. 

Just look at the Cyrillic scripts that NONE of them I could read! ㅋㅋㅋ

wait...I started to wonder if I were in Seoul.  

At times...we could find three language signage like the one above.  

A typical alley that one could easily find in the neighborhood also boasted to having signage written either in Hangeul or Cyrillic alphabets. 

I wished I'd known how to read them before coming here...:) Anyhow...this afternoon...my free-time took me here and well..it's worth the shot. Though I didn't have a chance to stumble and enter into shops that sell Russian or Central Asian countries like Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and others. 

Since there are a lot of people from Central Asia reside in the neighborhood...even the Woori Bank also posts its signage in the Cyrillic script next to its English one. 

World's Snack Corner

We're passing through the corner of world's snack that seemed to be just popped out of nowhere at one section of Dongdaemun Culture Park Station. Since we're intrigued by what they offered, we thought of taking it a look and...okay...these were what we found.

So many choices of snacks from all over the world in half price or ...way much cheaper than those sold at supermarket or department store. (but...of course...I kind of being suspicious of its catch....^^, esp. as to whether they're soon-to-be-expired snacks or something...well..fortunately..they're NOT.) 

And...yippie...we encountered the Tim Tam chocolate wafer that we like. And one of the funny things we found out was that...these Tim Tam are those supposed to be sold only in Indonesia....^^. so, why are they here? How is that possible? or could I be mis-interpreting it? Oh..I also bought two cans of Biscotto chocolate that we even rarely saw back home in Indonesia...but eventually ...we bumped into them anyway...right here...at this world snack corner.