As I had some free time the other day I thought that I would check out the local Yeokgok Market, as its close to where I work. I’ve seen it a number of times either in the distance or out of the window of the number 10 bus but never taken the time to check out what it had to offer. Like most westerns I find dealing with Homeplus or other major supermarkets easier than the face-to-face style of a traditional Korean market.
Yeokgok market is small in comparison to other markets in either Bucheon or neighboring Seoul. However its also not as busy as other market, which is a positive because it makes looking around the stalls and asking questions in broken Korean a lot easier to do.
Due to the size and limit range of stalls, I wouldn’t suggest traveling out of your way to visit Yeokgok Market, however if you live/work in the area or close by it is well worth a quick look.
How to get there:
Go to Yeokgok Station (역곡역) Subway Line 1, then take exit 1, cross the road and turn right and it’s around 50meters on your left.
I’ve always found that you learn about at culture by going through its markets. Not the tourist traps but where they sell the things that locals find. Quite frankly this was a big part of the inspiration as for our start up. Out of curiosity how long were (or have you been) in Korea? Where are you from? How did you (or are you) exchanging money for your travels?
To answer your questions as Tim the author of this post (others also post):
I’ve been in Korea on-and-off for almost 3 years.
I’m from the UK.
ESL teaching is my main employment.
Thank you for your interest.