Yarn Shop Keeper

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Originally uploaded by robotrenai

I'm a horrible blogger. I say I am going to do a daily feature, then three days later I forget to post. I'm working on it...

I took this photo on Saturday. I met up with friends at a coffee shop and we sat around knitting and chatting. From the coffee shop we went on a walk along a stream in the middle of Seoul to Dongdaemun. Dongdaemun is the location of a gate from when Seoul was a walled city. Today, it is a capitalist paradise. If it is related to textiles, and you want to buy it, you will find it in an abundance of selection. Too much selection. At one point you have to say "Ok, I will buy from this store, from this bin." and find something you like. If you don't narrow down the choice, you could get lost in the labyrinth of shops. Dongdaemun extends for blocks. Clothing shops (really, more like booths) are housed in not one, not two, not three, but probably more like 5 or 6 buildings. All of which ate 9 or 10 stories. Each booth is about 10 feet by 10 feet, and jam packed with goods. Raw materials- fabric, buttons, zippers, yarn, trim, etc, etc, etc, are hosted in a HUGE building. And as I discovered on Sunday, they also extend down the road next to the stream.
In the photo is the woman I bought 10 skeins of yarn for 10,000 won (around 8 or 9 USD). Her store, like every store, was jammed full of yarn. Inside, 3 women were knitting in the cramped space.
After buying the yarn, I bought a huge fuzzy warm comforter that retails for 200,000 won. I paid 60,000 won. This is why I love dongdaemun. Even though it is crowded and anxiety inducing, anything you can possibly buy is on sale for much cheaper than you can get it anywhere else in the world (except maybe the Russian Markets in Cambodia, but that is a story for another day)
I can not even comprehend how much product is for sale at Dongdaemun. It makes my head spin.