On our fifth day, we headed to the shopping district of Myeongdong. Myeongdong is an area we knew well as the last time we'd been to Korea, we had stayed at a guesthouse that was right opposite the main shopping area. However, catching the subway there disorientated us as we didn't come out the right exit and we got lost, wandering around various guest houses before walking back into the station and trying another exit. This time however, I wanted to do something touristy before getting into all the shopping.
Looking up things to see and do, I found that there was a cathedral nearby known as Myeongdong Cathedral (though it's formal name is the Cathedral Church of the Virgin Mary of the Immaculate Conception). Following my handy Google Maps (which does not work well on apple phones btw, and I know some android users also had difficulty while we were there - if you can use Naver I'm sure it'd work fine), I headed towards it and found a small arcade which I thought would lead me out to the church which was on the opposite side. However, what I found was that this was a space actually connected to the church. It was so open and beautiful. I headed upstairs to get back to ground level (it was on a hill) and went the wrong way - following a sign that said to the prayer room, which lead me to a balcony - before heading out an entrance/exit with glass automated doors (the standard entry way).
Looking around to orientate myself, I found the Cathedral standing behind me. Honestly, it's architecture is quite standard to what I'd find in Australia, but surrounded by the cityscape of Seoul, it was refreshing.
What was a bit different though, was the presence of televisions every few columns on the side seating. This makes an aweful amount of sense as the columns in the way would prevent view of the altar but I've never seen such use of technology before in a church. The architecture was nice, though not standout to what I've seen before. I did feel very awkward taking photos inside the church though and tried my best to be respectful.
Some of my photos aren't the best because I was rushing since people kept walking everywhere, but I think I'm getting there ^^. We just spent the rest of the time eating street food and shopping in Myeongdong. We hit the street shops and some malls as well, finding a second SUM store in the basement of Young Plaza next to Lotte Department store. There's an exit from the Euljiro-1-ga station on the green line (Line 2) that leads right past the doorway of the SUM store. We stumbled upon it while taking the underground passages to cross the road - definitely saved some searching time!
The Myeongdong SUM Store does not stock as much but you'll definitely be able to find some different items. There were different items in stock by idols within a group and we also found some items that we didn't see at the COEX store at all (such as some tshirts, socks and bands). I'd definitely hit COEX first as it does have a larger range, but if you have time - make sure you come to the Myeongdong store to see if what you want is in stock. I ended up spending another 50,000 won roughly.
Faithfully,
Mai
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