Last weekend, Ryan and I headed out to a European Christmas Festival in Seoul.
On the way, we stopped at Dongdaemun Market to try to find some yarn and crochet needles so I could not only make more beanies (it’s really the only thing I know how to crochet), but also so I could make those beanies with a knitting club I found. Carissa and Elaine taught me how to make friends over yarn :).
Dongdaemun Market is huge, and by the time we got there at 4:30 PM, it was closed. They have the market split up into huge multi-level buildings that are themed, so all of the crafts are conveniently located in one block. We wandered through the buildings, eerily empty, full of little market stalls that were closed. We went up and down a couple of floors before realizing they were all closed and headed out, but enjoyed our visit to the neighborhood.
After a crammed subway ride full of an uncharacteristic amount of Westerners, we got to the European Christmas Market. It was surprisingly small, with little booths from European countries selling food, and a band playing Christmas music.
We made our way around looking at the food… cabbage and pork rolls from Ukraine, crepes from France, something with cheese and potatoes from Switzerland, beer from England… and baked potatoes from Canada? Ryan chose a chicken sandwich from Spain, which dwarfed poor Ukraine right next door, and I went with a hazelnut crepe from France.
We hung around listening to the Christmas music, drinking makgeolli (a kind of sweet rice wine) and people-watching, marveling at the ability to sit in public and drink alcohol from the CV4U (akin to 7 Eleven) across the street. There was an interesting mix of people, and it was fun to listen to all the languages and accents singing Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer.
in some places 