Gyeongdong Market & Seoul Yangnyeongsi

Full transcript

Annyeong, yeoreobun! It's Yul from KVIBE IDOLS. Take a deep breath. Smell that? Ginseng, dried roots, mushrooms, and a hundred herbs you can't pronounce. Welcome to Gyeongdong Market and Seoul Yangnyeongsi, the herbal medicine capital of Korea!

Long ago, during the Joseon Dynasty, this area outside the east gate of Seoul was home to Bojewon, a public clinic that cared for poor and sick people. Healing has been in this neighborhood for centuries!

The modern market opened in 1960. Farmers brought their harvest from the countryside, and by the 1970s, this became Korea's biggest herbal medicine hub. In 1995, it was officially named Seoul Yangnyeongsi. Today, roughly two-thirds of the country's herbal ingredients pass through these streets. Daebak!

And now the twist. Climb the stairs of an old market building, walk past the shops, and suddenly you're inside a 1960s movie theater. The Gyeongdong Theater closed after about thirty years, but in December 2022 it came back to life as Starbucks Gyeongdong 1960. You sip coffee on the old tiered theater seats, facing a little stage. And part of every sale goes to a fund that helps the market. Old and new, working together!

Yul's tip! Wander the herb alleys first, then visit the free herbal medicine museum in the Seoul Hanbang Promotion Center. It's closed on Mondays. The café is hidden, so follow the small Starbucks signs and stairs. Go on a weekday morning to avoid the long wait for seats.

Next, let's relax by the river with ramyeon and fried chicken. Kaja!