Seoul’s Best Shops

Best Place to Rub Shoulders with the Rich [1]: The Maison Hermes Dosan Park [1] is an architectural wonder and ascends new heights of exclusivity even for the supremely posh Apgujeong neighborhood.

Best One-Stop Gift Shop [2]: Even the pickiest people back home won’t turn up their noses at the stylish souvenirs you pick up at Sorihana [2], which manages to stock mementos for all tastes.

Best Market for Bargain-Hunters [3]: If you’ve got the constitution to shop well after sunset, the wholesalers that come out in force in Dongdaemun Market [3] in the early hours of the morning offer some of the best deals on clothing and footwear this side of China’s factory towns.

Best Shopping Venue for People Who Hate Shopping [4]: At Gwangjang Market [4] browsers can lose themselves in lane after lane of cut-price clothing, handicrafts, and lacquerware, while those who’d rather be anywhere else can wait at one of dozens of nearby stalls and get acquainted with some locals over rice wine and some of the best street food Seoul has to offer.

Trendiest Mall [5]: Noon Square [5] in Myeong-dong has just the right balance of established foreign brands and emerging local designers to appeal to a wide segment of Seoul’s fashion-conscious youth.