And today:
When we first moved to Korea almost five (!) years ago, it was the land of small shops selling $5 funny t-shirts. Today, it is a land of brands. Our beloved Myeongdong Department Store is now a Uniqlo. The Salvation Paradiso is an H&M. Gangnam Station, and it's underground shopping area of more than 100 small stores, was suddenly gutted a few months ago and blueprints for the new shopping area feature yet another Nike Store and yet another dozen cosmetics shops.And now, it's Express Bus Terminal. If I'm guessing, the shopping area probably had 500 small, independently-run shops. It was so long that it would take about 30 minutes to walk from one end to the other (without stopping to look at things)... and there were two hallways to walk through! Sure, it was old. It was always boiling hot down there. The hallways were too narrow for the 10,000 shoppers there at any given time, BUT it was kind of a great place to shop. It was one of the last places to find a deal. A place to find something unique that didn't come from a chain store. And how many people are out of a job now that all these shops are gone?
I'm probably in the minority... one of those old fogies that doesn't want things that will inevitably change to change. I'm sure when the Underground Shopping Area Season 2 has it's "refresh open" it will be a big hit. But, to be melodramatic about a shopping mall: it's not part of the Korea that I want to live in.
Here's a sad Mel in front of her favorite, now empty, store: The Gam. Look at that face. How can this be right?
No comments:
Post a Comment