Beautiful Day for Shopping in Dongdaemun

 My favorite place in the world to shop for craft supplies in Dongdaemun Shopping Complex.  I take the blue subway line to get there, #421 Dongdaemun (the Korean's go by station name but I like to use the station number), exit 9 and it's on the left.  They are building a new Marriot hotel right in front of it.  The fifth floor is where I find all my goodies.  The fifth floor is really split in two with an A and B building.  I didn't keep track which building I was in but if you know the booth number, you will have no problem finding it.

My favorite shop, Tree & Cloud, had suddenly been discovered by the rest of the world.  It was packed when I got there and it's a tiny shop.  The shop number is 5002 and is in one of the corners. 

 Then I found a new place with premade chasu (Korean embroidery) items.  I paid 17,000 won ($15 USD) for everything you see above.  Don't tell my chasu teacher!

                                 I bought a bunch of charms at booth 5152,5153.

 I loved the colors of these leather bracelets even though I'm not sure what I will make with them. Booth 5057,5058.

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He has great prices on all sorts of chain. I saw chains from 2000 won ($1.75 USD) to 8000 won ($7.00 USD).  He had some really thick chain and I'm sure that was a lot more.  His prices are per meter and I love that I can actually touch and feel what I am buying.  The chains are on plastic spools and pick up what you are interested in and the price is on the side of the spool.

   His booth number is 5032,5033.

 
 I also got all these findings there for a total of 10,000 won ($8.85 USD).

 I came back a little later to Tree & Cloud and it was still pretty crowded.  So I grabbed a bowl and got these two bracelets.

                                                        And a bunch of charms.

This is a leather dog.  Again, I have no idea what I'm going to do with it but it was just too cute to pass up.  I'm a little sad that the rest of Seoul discovered this little gem of a booth.  I will truly miss when we move back to the States.  Where can you get wholesale prices without being a business and without mail ordering with all their minimums.  If I want one item, I can get it and I can see in person what I'm buying.

Even if you aren't a crafter, just about ever booth sells finished products at fantastic prices.  These are made by the booth workers and you can watch them work as you shop.  Rocketman said it perfectly when he described Dondaemun Shopping Complex as a JoAnn's on steroids.  I would add that it also has Walmart pricing.

I smiled all the way back to Suwon.