Nalina's Diary: August 2012

Sorry it's taken soooo long for me to make another blog post about my trip in Korea! Getting back home to the States has proved very hectic compared to what I imagined having just graduated. :-/ I thought I'd get a break!... well... I guess I have been procrastinating quite a bit. Hehehe. ^^

Anyways! So this is about my day trip with my aunt, mom, and sis to the Hyundai Department Store. I was quite excited to go to this clothing department store, because I was told that actors, models, and rich people went to shop there. I was hoping that I might run into somebody that I was a fan of. Or if not, at least maybe they'd have some fashionable clothing that I could drool over. =P

To say the least, I was quite disappointed in both aspects. I didn't meet any model or actor, and as you will see per the photos, the clothing looked just like the stuff at home!! Oooh but that's not all of course. They had stores such as Guess, Levi's, Chanel, Lancome, Zenith, among others. In the USA on the West Coast, it's not too hard to find very nice clothing that would be at most $100, or makeup kits that would cost around that same price in brand name stores. As a matter of fact, we could get the same brand name items for cheaper at places like Ross or TJ Maxx. In Korea, the prices are astronomical! There was a pair of 501 pre-washed Levi's selling for 890,000 won... about $800. Besides this, I saw a gorgeous, simple, light, and elegant Ralph Lauren dress made of 100% cotton, having a flowery pattern and an off-white background, running for 1,600,000 won! That's almost $1600!! O_o YIPES! So, if anything, I was entertained at how expensive all of the name-brand products cost, things that could get at home for maybe $30-50 depending on where you shop. Basically, the Hyundai Department Stores consisted of Western brands that came from Europe and the USA. Personally, I was quite happy shopping at Myong Dong Department Stores. ^^

Of course, I didn't buy anything, I just snuck pictures, as I believe that the store employees didn't want anyone taking pictures of their products. After browsing around, we found a food department in the basement. It looked similar to that of Myong Dong, but it had macaroons, ice cream, fresh baked goods, and soo jeh bi!! =D ... did I spell that right? Anyways, su jae bi is a delicious soup made of some sort of broth and typically wheat/rice chunks (could never figure it out). You eat it with barley rice (yum!!) and kimchi!... speaking of which I want some right now. ^^

I won't hold back the pics any longer. Hehehe. ENJOY!! ^^

The clothing that greeted us upon entrance

New Balance shoes

Can you Guess? ;)

Well hello there!

This was one of the cheapest pairs of Guess jeans

More clothing

DKNY!

This is a shorter version of that $1600 Ralph Lauren dress

Purses... She stole on! Kidding.

Okay um.. so that guy is sitting on something that is supposed to help stabilize your spine or something... it just looks wrong the way he's rocking on that thing.