Saturday Adventure

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Kovats and I had really wanted to check out a mall that sells strictly electronic equipment. Being in Asia, my visions of an electronics store would be one that carries the latest, biggest (memory wise), fastest, smallest pieces of electronic equipment ever made. This was not too far from the truth. We had two options; we could either go to Technomart or Yongsan Electronics Market. Both are well known. Technomart is a 10 story building that has numerous different booths setup on each floor catering to certain electronic needs. Whereas Yongsan Electronics Market is spread out in 20 different buildings, of which 2 buildings are 5 stories tall. Yongsan is known as the largest shopping area in Asia for electronics. Wow. Anyways, in the end we decided to make the trek to Technomart. We’ll save Yongsan for another day.

On our bus ride there we had to get off at an area called Jamsil to catch a subway for two stops. When we got off at Jamsil, we were amazed by our surroundings. Specifically, Lotte Department Store and Lotte World. We didn’t want to spend too much time getting off course (our aim was Technomart), but we couldn’t resist to look around for a little bit. We didn’t really check out Lotte World because we would have been all day. It’s basically an indoor/outdoor complex that houses a theme park, shopping malls, hotel, folk village, etc. (you get the picture). However, we did decide to check out Lotte Department Store. It was 10 floors of goodness. I’m sad to say it, but it put Toronto’s Eaton Centre - The Bay - to shame. It aimed towards high end fashions with labels such as: Gucci, Prada, Polo, Lacoste, Tommy, Versace, Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, and DK just to name a few. We wondered throughout the 10 floors as fast as we could for two reasons. For starters, we hadn’t gotten paid yet and most price tags started above the $150 range for the simplest item. Secondly, we still needed to get to Technomart. Another day we’ll go back…

We finally made it. Within the walls of Technomart the 10 floors are divided into different types of electronic equipment. The first three floors were mainly comprised of digital cameras and MP3 players. Other things included refrigerators and freezers. Throughout the floor there would probably be about 100 different booths with vendors always trying to sell you their product. We would constantly keep seeing the same items; you just had to decide which vendor you wanted to buy it from. Another thing about both of these electronic markets - nothing is marked with a price. So if you are planning on buying something, you should either have a rough idea of what an item is worth, or be willing to settle on the negotiated price. Floors 4-6 had things like DVD players, speakers, lamps and small kitchen appliances. The remaining upper floors had DVD’s, computers, monitors, speakers, etc…pretty much anything electronic that plugs in would be sold here.

I wasn’t really looking to buy anything that day; I just wanted to check out the actual store and see what all the hype was about. Hype indeed. 3.5+ hours later, we left Technomart. Not on our own will, but because it was 10pm and they were closing. Thankfully I managed to walk away with minimal wallet damage, spending a mere $2 on a little plug adapter for my computer. Kovats left satisfied, becoming “__” millionth IPod owner in the world. Yongsan will be next. From what I’ve read most people enjoy Yongsan over Technomart. I look forward to comparing the two for myself.

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Photos

Lotte Department Store
This shows the main entrance to the department store. Probably the craziest department store I've ever been in! Behind you can see a tower that is the Lotte World Hotel.

Technomart
Here are the 10 floors of goodness. By far the most electronics I've ever seen in my life. Sorry for the blurry picture, my camera isn't the greatest with night shots - maybe I should have bought a new one...

Random
This is a random sign I saw in one of Technomarts washrooms. I guess Koreans don't understand the concept of using a urinal...?