Seomun Market

I went to Seomun Market with Nic and Elias. We weren’t exactly sure where things were yet, or how to best get there. We found it, but we took the long way to get there. On our way, we passed one of the old City Gates, which was pretty cool. It’s so odd to me that these ancient relics are surrounded by convenience stores, and cars pass them daily, probably without even noticing them after years of seeing them every day. There are just part of the landscape.





We found the entrance gate to Seomun Market at last.



We had to cross a pedestrian bridge to get to the side of the street where the market was. The view from the top was pretty awesome.



The market itself is both indoors and outdoors. It is touted as being the largest market in Daegu. It is comprised of many multi-storied buildings, with hallways and alleyways lined with stalls and cart vendors as well. I’ve been told that you can find almost anything there. The tourist both downtown (on Dongsongno South by Debec) even gave me a map indicating what items could be found where. I mean, the market is massive.



We got there fairly late, not realizing that they close down by 7pm each night. (They are also closed on the 2nd and 4th Sundays for future reference.) So when we arrived, many people were tearing down for the night, so we didn’t get to see very much. I saw enough to know I must go back, preferably with a native Korean speaker, as I don’t think many of the vendors are too fluent in English.



But I did see a Christmas store with light-up reindeer that made me happy.



Then I saw a woman selling a strange variety of animals, including an adorable puppy, and that made me even happier. I played with him for a minute and it was obvious that he could use a lot of love and play time, which, if I weren’t in my current situation, I would have gladly given him. Then Nic said the variety and oddity of this group was probably because they were being sold for food. My heart immediately dropped, because it was likely she was right. Although it’s possible that the wonderfully loving puppy would not become soup, we were otherwise surrounded by chickens and fish and others being sold for food. I knew in that moment that I must either buy him right then, or I must walk away as fast as I could. I really didn’t have a choice, and started sobbing as I bolted down the dark alley, escaping the market.