South Korea Vacation 2015 - Part 11 Insadong and Dongdaemun

 

Insadong in Seoul is always a must stop for me for many reasons. I love seeing the latest cuteness like these cats.

You never know when you, as a foreigner, will be surrounded by a group of students who's school assignment is to ask you questions in English and video the encounter. This group was especially eager to use their English skills and we had a great time. This was one of many times this has happened to us, almost always in Insadong.

                                                   Anyone for some poo deliciousness?

                                        I don't remember seeing the burnt ones before.

                                                            I also love their advertising.

 I can't remember where we saw this but I have always been a huge fan of Infinite Challenge. 

                                                 Lunch was at a local restaurant in Insadong.

 

Then it was off to Dongdaemun where I need to get some fabric. This is not an uncommon sight in that area. It is known as the garment district of Seoul but I do wonder how they ever drive, let alone make lane changes or turns. On second thought, I definitely do not want to know!

Here's a close up. 

I needed to get some satin for my bojagi teacher who is currently living and teaching here in the States. My satin guy closed his shop years ago but I found this guy who had the fabric I was looking for. I fell in love with a chasu print fabric years ago and so did my bojagi teacher. It is so beautiful and I was glad to find him. If you have ever been in the Dongdaemun Shopping Center, you know how huge it is and how easy it is to get lost. But I figured I would find what I need near the hanbok stalls and luckily I was right.

                                                   Here is the fabric I bought for myself.

                                                                        Yummy!

Here's a panoramic view that Rocketman shot while patiently waiting for me.

I also stopped by my favorite fabric shop. It's underground in Dongdaemun and I loaded up on the sheer fabric that I love to use in my bojagi projects.

The owner was also selling these adorable bojagi necklaces and I just had to get one. It was so beautiful.

                                                                      Here's a closeup.

She also had these beautiful apple pins. All handmade and beautiful.

I also bought this hand painted watercolor in Insadong.

                                          I saw beautiful printed ramie and had to pick up some.

       I also stopped at a couple of hanji shops in Insadong. Can one have too much paper or fabric?

 I bought quite a bit of hanji paper at my favorite hanji shop in Insadong. Can you believe that the hanji paper was exactly the width as the length of my largest suitcase? It fit like a glove. I won't comment on the weight but Rocketman was glad that our AirBnB was very near Insadong.

                                              Here it is safely back in the U.S.A.