Life in Seoul: Starfield Department Store (Hanam-si)

(Preface: I actually had written this a month ago but it got deleted by Blogger. I am finally re-writing it because I think it's a pretty exemplary of a place Korean like to go and I would be remiss not to talk about it.)

When I was home, my family and I went to Starfield Department Store in Hanam-si, which is east of Seoul. It recently opened a few months prior and the wait to get a parking space was hours.   When we went, the wait was about an hour to find a parking space but I am sure there is no wait at the current time. I also know can take the bus to this location, but there is no subway stop that directly stops to there yet.

The electronic store had this giant Iron Man

The department stores in Korea have a different feel from the department stores in the US. They feel more like a mini-mall, with stores within a store. In a lot of ways, they are similar to Nordstrom's or Bloomingdale's with a kick-ass market and food court in the lower levels.

Tom's had a cafe! It was pretty awesome to see.

The Starfield Department Store feels like an actual mall. The second floor has all the designer brands, viz. Balenciaga, Jimmy Choo, et. al, but for me, I love the first floor. Since Starfield is a subsidiary of Shinsaegae, who also owns E-Mart, there are a lot of their own brands like Daiz and Molly's. Starfield Department Store also has a Zara and H&M.

The best part of Starfield, for me, was the variety of food. So much food. I loved how there were so many choices, from sit down restaurants to a fancy food court. There is even a bar in the third floor! In addition to the vast amount of food, there is also a movie theatre and also a water park. The reason why I think this is and has been so popular amongst Koreans is that it isn't *just* shopping; one can make an entire day of it.

People waiting in line for steak.

Another great thing about this place is that it is dog friendly, i.e. you can bring your dog into the department store. For pet owners, this is a great thing since sometimes it's hard to leave the dog at home always. Not all stores allow for pets to enter and signs indicates which ones do. If there is a store you want to go, you can always leave your dog at Molly's cafe and they will take care of your dog. Their rates are per hour and not very expensive.

The information centre has a variety of languages, including Chinese, Japanese and English.  Koreans love to do sthing during the weekend, so if you're curious to know what is a typical weekend, do go check out this department store.

xo Jane