Namdaemun Market - Korea's wonderland that sells everything

Foreign tourists and locals stroll through the bustling Namdaemun Market, Korea's longest-running market, in central Seoul, Tuesday. / Korea Times photos by Choi Won-suk

Bustling market district emerges as tourist mecca as urban renewal underway

By Park Jin-hai

“You name it. We have it.”

The bustling urban district near the historic Namdaemun gate sitting between Seoul Station and City Hall is like Korea's wonderland.

You can get anything you want_ from small minor daily products to key devices necessary to build military armor. Some joke that one can buy anything there, except nuclear bombs.

Exiting from underground, visitors instantly come across the busy, vibrant old streets of Namdaemun Market full of street vendors and visitors.

The nation's oldest active market, which opened in 1414 as a government-managed marketplace, survived the 1910-45 Japanese occupation, the 1950-53 Korean War and fires that broke out three times in 1954, 1968 and 1977.

Although major retail shops and large discount stores have overtaken the traditional market, the place still attracts tourists who want a peek into the daily lives of Koreans and their unique culture, as well as locals who want a nostalgic trip to the past.

“This market sells almost everything and it was once said one can even build a tank with the items people sell here. The peak for the market came in the 1980s and it was crowded with wholesalers who came to buy clothes from all,” said an old woman who has been running a sewing machine at her small open-air tailor shop that has provided on-spot repair services for the past 30 years.

“Around Children's Day on May 5, the line of those merchants' minivans stretched 10 kilometers long in order to buy popular children's clothing brands like Burdeng. Those days are long gone and it seems each year it gets more difficult to make a living.”

Although it is becoming harder to relive its former glory, Namdaemun Market is still one of the most vibrant markets where visitors can see time-honored eateries and shops.

A woman delivering big plates of food placed on top of her head walks through Namdaemun Market. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

Unlike Dongdaemun, which is filled with modern shopping centers, Namdaemun Market keeps its old face as there have been no major renovations, while massive urban redevelopment projects of the 1970s and 1980s changed other parts of Seoul.

Currently, the area is part of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's urban renewal plan. Since 2013, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon has been pushing forward urban development on preservation of historical and cultural values, over quantitative development and expansion.

More people visit the market after Seoul Station Overpass was transformed into Seoullo 7017, letting people walk high above traffic between Malli-dong to the west of Seoul Station and Namdaemun Market to its east.

“It is a bit pricier than Dongdaemun, but I think the clothes' quality is better. I often come here to buy clothes and they cost less than half the regular price off season,” said Yeon Sung-hwa, a 67-year-old woman from Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province, who bought a flower-patterned blouse for 20,000 won. “Compared with last year, I see more customers this year. I came here alone and one interesting thing I found today is that the stewed belt fish, which was served for two people, is sold for single customers as well. The market must have embraced the changes of today when then number of single households has increased substantially.”

'Dokkaebi' market

The stores that counted 215 in Namdaemun Market in 1947 increased to 252 even during the Korean War. When the country was recovering from the ashes of war, 150 stores and 500 street vendors were active.

The market grew fast right after the Korean War, when items from the U.S. military's Post Exchange (PX) and aid supplies made their way into the market, along with smuggled goods and luxury items Japanese colonists left behind after liberation.

Before the government deregulated imports in the early 1980s, smuggled cameras, tobacco and watches as well as army uniforms, army wool blankets and C-rations appeared and disappeared in the market like mythical creatures from old Korean folk tales in order to avoid government crackdowns. This earned the market its nickname “Dokkaebi market,” with dokkaebi being a mythical creature similar to a goblin.

Now the market has about 10,000 stores and 400,000 daily visitors. More than 1,700 items encompassing clothes accessories, kitchenware, folkcrafts, foods, miscellaneous goods and agricultural and fishery products are offered on sale.

The biggest worries for sellers in the market are rising rent and dropping sales. An old woman in her early 70s who has been selling bindaetteok pancake at a small street corner for 10 years says she doesn't recognize the effects of increased visitors. “It seems each year gets worse. Visitors might have increased but many of them just look around and leave. When the economy is in good shape, merchants in the market on their way home used to buy food. But nowadays, I seldom see such people,” she said. “When I struggle with falling sales and rising rent, and even if I want to sell my business, it is hard to find anyone who wants to buy it.”

Customers of street vendors that sell boribap (rice and barley mixed with vegetables) sit within elbow distance around a steel table. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

Back alleys full of surprises

“Jesus, look at this place,” exclaims Erik McDonel, an international school teacher from the U.S., walking down to the stairs that leads to an underground arcade in Namdaemun Market where many small shop owners sell imported snacks, foods and kitchenware side by side.

“It looks very full of stuff. We are surprised at how much stuff they are selling here,” he says looking at the stacks of products that nearly reach the ceiling. Retailers use long pincer-like steel tools to bring down the items customers want to buy from stores that sit like giant ants' underground colonies. His wife Tonya agrees. “It's packed to the gills… stuffed full of everything that even under the stairs there is a business. We like living in Asia because you can always find whatever you want somewhere.”

Namdaemun Market is surprise after surprise _ with its diverse items sold, and as many diverse people you can meet there.

If you just look around the main street and don't venture through the narrow old alleys, you will miss out. Many restaurants and unique shops are only accessible after traveling deep into the alleys, turning one corner after another. Entering an alley, one can find a cluster of famed stewed belt fish restaurants, but turning another corner they can find a whole section of shops selling accessories and women's underwear.

A cross-dressing vendor raises his sales pitch, cracking jokes with customers. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

“I remember how I felt as a small child looking at the stacks of colorful candies and chocolates at the underground arcade that sells imported goods. With my mouth agape, I looked at Namdaemun Market like it was full of treasure,” says Kim Young-jin, an office worker in his 40s. “Shopping here reminds me of happy childhood memories.”

The market becomes the busiest during lunch. Food vendors serving barley rice are popular with tourists and locals. They serve a bowl of steamed rice and barley with a plate of vegetables for 6,000 won, but it comes with two free plates of different noodles. In the densely packed place, strangers sit around steel tables so close to each other to eat, making a unique local scene for Westerners who might be more used to wider personal space.

On a hot summer day, people make a long queue to taste a deep-fried version of “hotteok,” or Korean pancake. An older woman picks up underwear and haggles over the price. A male street vendor wearing a woman's dress pitches to sell dresses, cracking jokes to his customers.

“This place is vibrant and exciting. A lot of interesting goods are on sale,” says James from Australia who visited the place with his family.

Jung Su-bin, a university student, says she knew about the place, but hadn't thought of visiting before her mother insisted they go together. “I had this image that the traditional market is only for the older generation and the streets would be dirty. It is a fun trip and a nice surprise that so many people still visit,” she said.

Muslims pray towards Mecca in the hallways of Hoehyeon Station. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

An old fortune teller reads a customer's fortune at the underground walk below Namdaemun Gate. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk