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.

Dongdaemun Design Plaza & Park: Will it live up to what it promised to BE?+

This is one section of the facades of the soon-to-be-opened design plaza and park @ Dongdaemun. Just got back from there. Witnessed some workers did what looked to be a post-finishing or hmm finishing touch to the supposedly grandiose state-of-the-art plaza. hmm...

well..this is the rendering of what it'll look like when it's fully completed.

But...this is what it looked like...at least at the point of my visit as of today (March 6, 2014). I think it's about to fully operational. At daylight the walls seem to be er...bland but...I saw some rendering that the walls will be glaringly glowing with lights at night. Hope that's gonna be true, though.

So..this is what it looked like as of today. I took Eyra to take a walk even when it was surprisingly cold (again). ^^. Not many people around..and we occasionally encountered some people who happened to be coming in and out of the subway station right underneath this behemoth design. 

This will surely be another must-visit attraction or tourist spot in Seoul. 

Though nothing seems to be 'occupying' the area, I am sure that this plaza will be filled with innumerable exhibits to ease the senses of Seoul sight-seekers.  

The question that remains is whether its function will live up to its 'grandiosely behemoth design!! TIME will tell. ..and I cant' wait to pay another visit when it's officially opened. This March?? hmmm......

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.