By Jane Han
Not much has changed since my last visit to Seoul. But then again, it’s only been six months so what would I expect? Just when things started becoming all too typical, there it was ― the much-hyped, newly revamped underground bus terminal mall that I had completely forgotten about.
I mean, how could I forget? I read about it in the news all winter, spring and summer long. The once dim and rundown shopping arcade went under construction last year, promising to be reborn into something spanking new.
The year-long renewal finished and doors finally reopened this summer and I happened to stumble across it ― literally ― while on my way to Shinsegae Department Store in Banpo a few weeks ago.
It was a busy Tuesday morning when I was looking for the underground entrance to Shinsegae after getting off subway line 3. Not familiar with the station, I took a wrong turn.
Boy was I glad I did.
I wandered through a short alley and the moment I pushed opened a set of thick glass doors, it was like going from night to day. No more musty underground smell and stuffy air. Just that bright, breezy and brand new freshness.
And, of course, all of this only mattered because on both the left and right of where I was standing was a seemingly endless line of bargain shops. Yup, it was my lucky day.
The Express Bus Terminal underground plaza, shortened to ``GoTo Mall,’’ has always been known for good deals, and although prices have gone up by a little after the revamp, they were still cheap.
A boat-neck cotton span shirt for 5,000 won, a knee-length wool jacket for 40,000 won and a pair of fleece-lined jeans for 20,000 won doesn’t sound like much of a rip-off, does it?
Clearly worked up and fixated in my unexpected shopping, I spent a good three hours scurrying up and down the two separate underground aisles that hold more than 600 stores.
But three hours wasn’t close to enough to cover all the shops. I went back and ended up spending a fortune on my biggest shopping spree.
As a fan of fast fashion, I’m a regular at brands like Uniqlo, H&M and Forever 21. But personally, I must say Korea’s fast fashion is hands-down the cheapest and most diverse.
OK, I’m sure some of you are rolling your eyes at this point. But really, it’s not easy to find a good quality $5 cotton span shirt that looks as new after five machine washes.
Fast fashion, by nature, is made cheaply and meant to last only a short time. So from a consumer perspective, it’s a no-brainer to return to something that gets me the most bang for my buck.
So I began to wonder why these underground stores can’t make it above ground and become the next Uniqlo or Forever21. Sure, Korea has its own up-and-coming fast fashion labels like 8Seconds and Mixxo, but these underground shops have been around so much longer. They aren’t in any way lacking in quality or price wise.
All they need is capital to build big fancy stores and a method of inventory control so shoppers can easily refund or exchange, both of which isn’t likely to happen at the moment.
Even though many of the 600 plus GoTo Mall stores carry the same designs, they’re all run by separate owners so industry experts say it’s impossible for these merchants to team up. Most of them are just managing their 20-square-meter shop to make ends meet at the end of every month.
So based on reality, Korea’s underground fast fashion scattered across Seoul will probably stay put.
I have no problem exploring below ground level but let’s just hope many others, including foreign tourists, are lucky enough to stumble across this shopper’s heaven as I did.