 The lights are brightly lit at night to greet retailers from other regions who come to buy goods to sell at their stores. |
Staff Reporter
Amid the steaming air, Gwangjang market next to Cheonggye Stream in Jongno, Seoul, people are taking slow steps, living slow lives.
Established in 1905, it is the first market in Korea to trade everyday.
The market, specializing in silk and draperies, experienced a downturn when large supermarkets and department stores emerged, but since the stream reopened in 2005, it has been invigorated and is full of curious visitors browsing about.
Here you can experience the true Korea, which you don’t get to see in air conditioned department stores or large supermarkets.
Long and complex paths are filled with retailers from many regions, bargaining for goods. Vendors, lined up one after another, sell Korean pancakes, sausages and pigs feet, which have made the market even more famous.
Hundreds of people talking and the smell of food in the air create a harmonious enlivening atmosphere.
Listening to 84-year-old saxophonist BaekYeon-hwa play, and having a drink accompanied with pancakes and sausage, takes away your worries and puts you in a friendly state of mind.
Since the market was fitted with a ceiling two years ago, it is filled with people regardless of rain or snow.
“I come here often with colleagues to get a feeling of familiarity, and friendliness. Of course, the low price of food is attractive, too,” Suh Jin-woo, an office worker who works nearby, said.
The market is right in front of Metro line No.1 Jongno 5-ga station’s exit eight.
shim@koreatimes.co.kr
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