Dongdaemun Fabric Market - A Review

So... In case you're ever in Seoul, you might need to know about this place.

{Yes, this is my round-about way of talking about the adoption without actually talking about the adoption.}

{Which was given initial approval on Tuesday, so now we're in the 14 day waiting period before the next round of approvals and visas and appointments and...end game! Maybe! Soon!}

{And now would be a good time to "like" or tell your friends to "like" my Facebook page, because I'm going to list a few quilts for sale. Because last minute tickets to/from Korea ain't cheap, and Momma's ready to bring her baby home!}

Ahem. Anyway. The market. Holy crap, the market.

We're talking whole city blocks covered by this complex.

Every bit is packed with booths and people and stuff.

Need beads? You might be able to find a few here. There's also an entire floor of ribbon. Booths and booths of paracord {the Dude would love it!} Giant bags of zippers. You name it, it's there...somewhere.

So much silk and polyester fabrics. Bolts usually could be cut, and the swatches were for wholesale. And they would move fabric constantly - men were bringing in rolls right off the backs of motorcycles, and people would carry out a whole roll at a time.

{Booth 3247}

Luckily I did a little research and knew a couple booths to find - they're all numbered and in sections. {Though it took us an hour to figure out where the D section was.}

The selection is varied but limited - don't go in expecting to find the newest Moda line, but do stock up on loads of basics. I found a lot of novelty kids fabrics, some soft florals, and tons of stripes and dots.

This booth, across the way, had lots of modern-ish fabrics and a random selection of Civil War reproductions. I found the teal in my stack here - from Laurie Wisbrun's Brrrr line.

{Map from the Korea blog}

If you don't enjoy wandering about tiny passageways crammed with people and fabric, these two booths are at the arrow on the map. Or at least that's what my husband tells me. {True story: I once argued that we couldn't see Mount Spokane from our house. This is, apparently, a fallacy. I have a pretty poor sense of direction.} 

Most of the cotton fabrics, and some minkee, is nearby. Note the stairs: easy in and out!

And this is what I bought - 15 yards for 48400 won. We were doing a 1:1 translation in our heads, but it's a little less than that, so it came out to just about $46. Yes, $3 a yard.

Yeah, I'm taking an extra suitcase for the second trip.

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Whoop Whoop Friday @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict