Seoul actually is a not too pretty city. Also, anyone saying that Seoul looks and is just like Tokyo, just dirtier, is
lying! Or delusional. I really don't see much in common, and I think people who try to compare them are slightly misled by the fact that they are both Asian?
It's also little like Hong Kong, another Asian city I have been to up to date. The one city it bares the most resemblance to in my eyes is actually Saigon (today Ho Chi Minh City) in South Viet Nam, though more developed, less crowded, cleaner, and less raucous. I did
not expect Seoul to look most similar to Saigon
at all, expecting it to be hypermodern, very fashion-y and high tech as its Korean Wave and excellent movies (Old Boy, A Tale of Two Sisters, Chaser, etc.) had made me believe. However, Seoul is still coined by the characteristic features and landmarks of a poor Asian country, while unobtrusively baring numerous isles of modern high tech and western-oriented worldliness.
While Tokyo is a hot mess of layering and here and there craziness, girls in Seoul dress way more casual in a very playful and feminine way. "Casual" in Seoul is definitely different and more simple than "casual" in Tokyo, and Seoul girls are not even close to as trend driven as Tokyo girls are. However, after half a year Tokyo and all its flashiness, Seoul in comparison for me feels very pleasant and appealing in its pretty simpleness right now.
As for the shopping, I can say that I
love it here. It is way,
way better than Hong Kong, where cheap looks cheap and feels cheap, and fashion is not as nice. It is nicer - though more conservative - than Tokyo, because it is certainly not as expensive, especially with the recession slump having hit South Korea the worst in all Asia and the Korean Won being very cheap currently. I cannot take Saigon for comparison, because "fashion" there is still in development.
You can do shopping at several levels of price and "class". Of course, Seoul, too, has Asian-typical Department Stores boasting of luxury and high end. It also has boutiques, catering to the hip crowd, carrying local brands of any
couleur and different price ranges. And then there's the Fashion Malls, where "shops" are lined next to each other on about five to six floors in small stalls. They're like neat indoors markets, where you can also haggle, but fitting spaces are rare.
What I will definitely buy more of here is pants and denim, because until now the Korean ones are the best, fitting me perfectly and having just the right leg length, while more than reasonably priced!
There are a whole lot more very, very interesting aspects and facets of Korean culture (eating culture, DVD-rooms, Night Clubs, etc.), which I - due to various reasons - won't touch upon on here (at least not now), even though I think that that's a shame myself, since it doesn't do Seoul or South Korea any justice limiting the view on its fashion and shopping. I hope to dig deeper into Korea since we have another two weeks here, and I am very curious about what else I will find out.
