DongDaeMun |Walmart's got nothing on this Baby!

It's no wonder there are no Walmarts in Korea when you have things like DongdadaeMun (BigEastGate) which is a shopping district in Seoul.  (if you go to Wally World's site or read news about the topic the spin is that Walmart couldn't capture Asian likes/styles - Pish!)


The truth is, there are markets in every major city in the Republic of Korea that offer better prices every second of every day, albeit without the superfluous and superficial fluff that Walmart throws in at minimum wage (unless of course you're a woman and then it's less ;>)

And the markets here are truly competitive: capitalism at it's best. Take the picture to the right. The foreground diminishes about two blocks away and every partition is a different store with different prices. This is just one building that occupies two city blocks. There are about four like it in the neighborhood offering finished garments. not to mention the half dozen or so three story buildings adjacent that sell yardage and haberdashery.


Best part is, the price tag in these markets is meaningless! (Whoa, can you imagine WallyWorld working like that?) In this (real) market the consumer gets to bid.  Truly refreshing to find actual capitalism, not the chopped up, corporated, neo-Americanisim-post-world-war-two brand Goldman-Fat-Ass-Sachs crap that most of us living in America have come to regard as freedom of choice.


Such a wonder that Walmart and other conglomerates have failed here miserably.

Crossing the Han

Winter and I finally made the daring move on our bicycles across the Han river this weekend, if even by accident. Originally we thought we would ride over towards Yongsan, but when we saw another cyclist  coming up a pedestrian underpass, we just had to explore. So glad we did!

The underpass lead to a bike path that skirts the river below the freeway (which also skirts the river).  Bikers everywhere, some riding in organized groups, some solos, some Mom and Pops with Kid ridding between: really marvelous. Most everyone was riding street or mountain bikes but Winter and  the only BMX bikes on the trail (and off the trail too) and that was all the difference: we went where no Seouls had gone before!

Getting back to the house from the south side was an adventure because we crossed the Hannam Bridge which is really only designed for automobiles. We had to negotiate a narrow pedestrian/bicycle (with he occasional scooter going the opposite direction) extension on the main roadway which lead us back to our neighborhood. From there, smooth sailing.

The whole trip with a couple of breaks was, roughly, an enjoyable  hour and a half.

N.B. Now unlike cyclists in the Islands (or on the Mainland) even if you're a  "Sunday Syclist"  you have to deck out in the latest cycling fashion.   Spandex is a must if even for the occasional, part-time, dilettante! It doesn't matter how much or how often you ride (even if it is but once a year) Spandex, with plenty of "sponsored" logos is haute equipe.