Day 6 South Korea, Seoul, Ewha Women's University, Myeongdong

Day 6 was our Free and Easy day! I would strongly recommend choosing a tour package which allows you at least one Free and Easy day in the city so that you could walk around by yourself and feel the city outside the usual tourist destinations. I enjoyed being part of the tour as we were conveniently carted around South Korea in a warm bus and I never had to worry about missing a flight or losing my way. However, the free and easy day was precious and enjoyable too. I really wanted to see the city without throngs of tourists pushing against me or hard selling talks in enclosed rooms. We were also glad for the opportunity to sleep in a bit more after 5 days of early morning calls.

Our first stop was Ewha Women's University and the shopping district around the university. We took the subway to Ewha Women's University Station (Line 2, Exit 2 or 3) and emerged along a narrow street lined with bare trees and small shops on both sides. We walked down the street towards the crowd and found the University at the end of the narrow street. The shopping district began at the University and spilled along the streets and into the alleys in all directions.

Shopping was amazing here. Prices were very reasonable, the quality was decent, and the variety was amazing. I had so much fun walking down the many side alleys, entering small shops along the streets, browsing through dresses that cost 10,000 won. I bought a backpack for myself and the boyfriend here as well as a couple of tank tops.

There were numerous street stalls dotting the landscape in this area as well and we decided to try the Herb Chicken. It was essentially a cup full of fried chicken and rice cake tossed in a sweet tangy chili sauce. I was really in love with this street snack! Would highly recommend it if you are in the area. The stall was beneath Pizza Hut.

We headed to Myeongdong after our little shopping spree at Ewha. Our initial plan was to head to Myeongdong Station which necessitated a transfer to Line 4. After some research, we found out that we could take the subway to Euljiro Il-ga Station (Line 2, Exit 5) which will take us to the other side of Myeongdong. When we exited the subway station, we found ourselves at Lotte Mall where we took a quick browse. Myeongdong shopping district was directly across the road and the crowd thickened considerably in the evening when the street stalls appeared. If you are ever lost in this area, just head towards the colourful lights and bustling crowd. 

Shopping at Myeongdong was interesting. We were always eating the street snacks because there were just so many stalls selling so many delicious-looking snacks. There were numerous shops selling the usual Korean skincare products and an assortment of small boutiques and CD shops. We came across the ABC Mart which stocked a wide variety of shoes, especially sneakers and found a pair of glittery Vans sneakers on discount. I bought them immediately without a second thought. Definitely one of my favourite purchases in Korea!

The Myeongdong area has a couple of underground shopping centres as well. They were not as interesting as the shopping district above ground but some shops sold pretty unique products. My brother found a limited edition CD at one of the tacky-looking underground shops! Worth a visit if you are bored of the swanky shopping centres at Myeongdong.

Read about Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, and Day 5.