Sungnyemun Gate Guard Ceremony & Experience (숭례문 파수의식 / 원데이! 파수군) - Area information - Korea travel information

Sungnyemun Gate Guard Ceremony & Experience (숭례문 파수의식 / 원데이! 파수군)

Sungnyemun Gate Guard Ceremony & Experience (숭례문 파수의식 / 원데이! 파수군)

2.0Km    2024-03-12

40 Sejong-daero, Jung-gu, Seoul
010-2802-2133

The Sungnyemun Gate Guard Ceremony is a reenactment of the changing of the guards who protected the fortress walls around the capital city during the Joseon dynasty. During this change, the gates would be opened for the off-duty guards to go out and replace those finishing their shift of walking along the walls.

Nammun Tobang (남문토방)

2.0Km    2019-05-07

73-5, Namdaemunsijang-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul
+82-2-778-6727

This restaurant offers customers loach soup in Gyeongsang-do style and fried loach. Smoked duck shabu shabu and vegetables, as well as Smoked duck casserole are also a good choice.

MIGABON (미가본)

MIGABON (미가본)

2.0Km    2021-03-18

56, Myeongdong-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul
+82-2-752-0330

This is a Korean cuisine located in Myeong-dong, Seoul. A famous restaurant among Japanese tourists. The representative menu is wild pine mushroom and abalone porridge.

Wangsol Pharmacy [Tax Refund Shop] (왕솔약국)

Wangsol Pharmacy [Tax Refund Shop] (왕솔약국)

2.0Km    2024-04-22

36, Namdaemun-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul

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CAFE COIN (카페코인)

CAFE COIN (카페코인)

2.0Km    2021-03-19

10, Myeongdong, 6-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul
+82-2-753-1667

A café featured in a popular Korean drama. This is a cafe located in Jung-gu, Seoul. The representative menu is tiramisu.

Beauty Play Myeongdong (뷰티플레이 명동)

Beauty Play Myeongdong (뷰티플레이 명동)

2.0Km    2024-06-14

73 Myeongdong-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul

Beauty Play is a K-beauty experience center operated by the Korea Cosmetics Industry Institute and supported by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. It offers a wide variety of sample Korean beauty products for testing  as well as diverse beauty experience programs such as makeup touch-up service (choice of base, eyes, or lips), personal color test, and skin evaluation. Visitors can also ask for product recommendation based on their skin type or skincare concerns. Beauty Play also frequently hosts beauty seminars and one-day classes, which are announced online via its official website. International tourists can apply for a full makeup service with an advance reservation free of charge. 

Beauty Play has two branches in Seoul: one in Myeong-dong, which is located across from Myeongdong Cathedral; and one in Hongdae. Beauty Play experience programs are avilabe from 10:00 to 18:00 everyday except Sundays. 

Olive Young - Myeongdong Branch [Tax Refund Shop] (올리브영 명동점)

2.0Km    2024-06-26

14, Myeongdong 8-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul

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Jongno 3(sam)-ga Jewelry District (종로3가 귀금속 전문상가)

Jongno 3(sam)-ga Jewelry District (종로3가 귀금속 전문상가)

2.0Km    2021-06-10

Jongno3-ga, Jongno-gu, Seoul-si
+82-2-1330

There is an enormous selection of wholesalers and retail jewelry stores in this district, spread throughout Jongno 3(sam)-ga and 4(sa)-ga. The glittering showcases here are especially popular amongst couples and foreign tourists looking to find fine jewelry at affordable prices. Stores in the jewelry district have a selection of designs that are extraordinarily diverse and prices that are 30 to 40% lower than at other jewelry outlets in Korea.

- A fabulous selection at wholesale prices
The Jongno 3(sam)-ga Jewelry District is located in Jongno, with shops flooding the alleyways all along the main street and stretching for a length of one kilometer. The area holds a total of over 1,000 jewelry stores, some 300 design and manufacturing stores, and 20 licensed evaluators.

The Jongno 3(sam)-ga Jewelry District originated in Yeji-dong of Jongno 4(sa)-ga, then expanded to include Bongik-dong near the Danseongsa Theater at Jongno 3(sam)-ga.
As the district grew, retail jewelry stores both large and small populated both sides of the main street from Jonggak to Jongno 5(oh)-ga.
Most of the stores in Yeji-dong deal in watches and gemstones, giving the area the name Watch Alley. The back alleys of Bongik-dong and Yeji-dong are mostly filled with wholesalers whose clients consist of brokers and jewelers from around the country. Retail sales are possible at these shops, but some of them might hesitate to deal in small quantities.
The larger stores along Jong-ro literally glitter with dozens of flashy showcases presenting a great selection of jewelry and other precious metals. Prices are already discounted to begin with, but you may be able to bargain even further.

Stores in this district are affiliated with setting factories, so if you have a special design in mind, you can probably get it custom ordered. Thus, if you go in with a brand name jewelry brochure, they will most likely be able to make a similar looking item or even customize it to your preferences.
In addition to its grand variety of diamonds, rubies, domestic amethysts, and almost any precious stone you can imagine, gold is also available in 14k, 18k and 24k yellow or white, as well as in platinum. Watches are often discounted at 50-60% off the retail price, and of course this is the very best place to buy fancy wedding jewelry at amazingly low prices.
We suggest, however, that you take your time and look around, because prices, not to mention their inventory, will vary significantly from shop to shop.
As soon as a new brochure is published by an international brand such as Cartier, TIFFANY or BVLGARI, near-identical designs appear in these stores almost immediately.
Furthermore, this area has recently become the home of accessories for famous Korean entertainers. Companies in the district will consult with coordinators, then design and manufacture items, and lend them to stars for them to wear. When entertainers wear this jewelry on television, the coverage serves to promote these designs. Examples of designs that have attracted a lot of attention previously, include Lee Seung-yeon’s earrings, Jeon Ji-hyeon’s necklace, Moon Hee-jun’s necklace, Lee Yeong-ae’s earrings, and much more.

Nowadays, many foreign tourists, especially Japanese tourists, make the trip to the Jongno 3(sam)-ga Jewelry District, as prices here are much cheaper than in their home countries.
The Jewelry District is conveniently located at the center of Seoul’s major palaces and near the downtown areas. Of these, the closest tourist areas include Myeong-dong, downtown Jong-ro, Dongdaemun Market, and Namdaeumun Market.

Artbox - Jongno 3(sam)-ga Branch [Tax Refund Shop] (아트박스 종로3가)

2.0Km    2024-04-17

126, Jong-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul

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Zen - Myeong-dong Branch [Tax Refund Shop] (ZEN 명동)

Zen - Myeong-dong Branch [Tax Refund Shop] (ZEN 명동)

2.0Km    2024-04-16

5-8F, 62, Myeongdong-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul

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