Chang-Dong and Yongsan

As some of you may know, I'm currently looking to get a pet lizard for my time here. Being a rather nerdy individual, a reptile pet was something I've wanted to have for awhile, and with an opportunity to raise one here being so easy to consider, jumping at the opportunity was little more than finding where I could actually buy one. One such a place is an online, and physical store known as MowgliPet, an online store that deals in reptiles, insects and various other creepy crawlies. You can order the pets and all the necessities online from this store, but I didn't want to do that; I wanted to see for myself what I was getting and what I needed to purchase for it.

The actual store was located some distance North of me, in the upper regions of Seoul in an area called Chang-Dong. It was an hour and several minutes ride from Yatap, but I was willing to go the distance to check the store, so, at 10:00am on a Saturday morning, I set off. The train ride was comforting, reading a book and listening to music hastened my time on the train until I arrived (through transfers, mind you) at my destination.


Chang-Dong, a rather quaint, quiet part of Northern Seoul, one of which I was bound to search about as the day would go on. I had been fortunate that one of my Korean Native Co-teachers could help me translate the store's address and plot directions for me, so it was just a matter of following the directions through a few side streets and one long back alley before I arrived at my destination.

Now, this was around 11:30 or so when I got there, so I'm feeling quite glad my trip was almost at its end, low and behold however, I am met with disappointment; the store was closed. A sign on the door had read "Open 1:00pm". So, here was my predicament, what do I do for an hour and a half until the store opens?

Best answer, explore and shop!

Chang-Dong, like most other places in Seoul, has a diverse section of shopping goods; small stores litter the sides of streets and food, clothing and merchandise is bought, sold, and bartered. I had the fortune of finding my first outdoor Spice and Grain shop, knowing one of my fellow foregin teachers had spoke of seeking one, the appeal of this I guess is the grains and spice are fresh, but it's always uneasy for me to see food exposed. Still, it looked nice, and I'm sure it'd be great for an awesome deal if you're looking for that sort of thing.

When you see it...

Chang-dong itself is a very small place, there wasn't too much to see around there, but many shops littered the area I was venturing in. A few places did catch my attention but a lot of stores and shops were closed, beyond that, most were of clothing or other forms of retail I had no interest in, and many things seemed to look quite similar to Yatap, so there wasn't too much to go on.

The matter of also being hungry came to mind. Since it's still Passover, my food options were limited, but considering I had went the Sephardi route for keeping kosher here, rice was still a viable option. One such a place was something called Go-Bok, not sure if the spelling is right there, but it's pretty much two rice paddies squeezing together filling of fish, egg, cheese, anything you could choose from a menu. Once you get your sandwich, a hefty press on the packaging and you're good to go for this succulent little treat.

Now, with my stomach full and the time winding down to 1pm, I decided to go once more to the store and check if it was open. A hop, skip and jump later, and I arrived outside the building once again with 10 minutes to spare. I again go inside and find the room where the store is, only to see the door is still locked. I waited for awhile until 1pm came around but found nothing. I waited another 10 minutes before I figured something was wrong and called the owners number which was plastered on the same piece of paper that read the store opening time.
I get a response, asking why the store wasn't open, and the response I get was "Store open at 2."

That was it, I was done. I wasn't interested in wandering around for ANOTHER hour when this guy is being lackadaisical and taking his sweet time. When you post a time your store opens, you OPEN your store at THAT time... no exceptions! I worked in retail enough to know that you commit to your hours. I was fed up tbh, and quite let down as I was interested in sorting the requirements for buying my reptile, but I guess it will have to wait another day when I know now to come in earlier in the afternoon.


I packed my stuff up and headed back to the subway, not wanting to wait around, I began my venture to my second stop on my list. Yongsan, and one of the best shopping places to venture to; I-park Mall. It consisted of a whole perimeter of seven level shops surrounding the Yongsan station, which was both a subway and train station, which can be confusing sometimes if you're not too sure where you have to go.

It may look nice from outside,
but this neighbor store to I-park is rather silent.

The whole place was closed inside
Shops empty, litter everywhere

Speaking of lost, I had heard there was a pretty good airsoft store nearby; I had to call one of my friends on Kakow to get directions, and after a few uncertain turns along with a walk through a rather sparse and closed mall beside I-park, I was able to make my way over to Vega Tech Airsoft. Along the way however, I found even MORE tech shops; cell phone stores, RC stores, DVD shops and Kiosks. It's quite delighted to know that there's an electronic district here known as Yongsan Electronic Market, right outside the mall I was in. Maybe later if I need tech for anything, I'll venture here.

 After learning the location of VEGA Airsoft (Which I will return to next month) I went back to I-park Mall to do some more serious shopping. I-park mall is indeed one of the largest mall's I've seen so far in Seoul,seven floors of shops ranging from clothing to electronics; sadly my phone was on the verge of dying so I was unable to take pictures of much of the store front I had wanted to, but never fear, I shall be here once again and take more pictures, especially of Gundam Base, the 7th floor Hobby store that has everything and anything of Gunpla.

Despite the loss of camera, I was quite delighted to have had a chance to see such an awesome spectacle of hobby and modeling. I'll certainly take time to return there once more and bring with me a working camera!