The Girls' Shopping Spree...

 What would a visit to Seoul without Myeongdong?

Just like any other Southeast Asian tourists:-), my sisters-in-law also got their fair share of nipping into the much-hyped Myeongdong...though..well..it's a bit upmarket compared to the laid back Namdaemun...even when we talk about the prices. 

But, of course..we could savor the energy and the vibrant that this place offered, right? 

A drizzle may hinder some, but not for us. 

Oh, I still remembered that we went out for traveling or shopping or just sight-seeing right after picking the girls up from school. So, Eya and Freya were practically still tagging along their school bags! 

"What am I doing here, Dad?" 

Not much, Dear. Unless you got tons of bucks to spend^^ 

Ok..let's go home, then. 

But before that..the girls wanted to have some pictures taken.

DONE!

We're @ the underground Myeongdong before catching the subway back home...

and Freya was seen...munching something. Yeaap..she's hungry. 

She's like..lost in her own world of "Deli Manjo"=an emergency food for hungry travelers. 

Going back home....on the subway...and Freya got her wish: 

clinging on the hand-rail...^^like what adults do.

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But now...the used to be dilapidated and outdated Stadium is GONE.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.