Looking for the Exit—and Walking Into a Shopping Mall?


A long underground shopping street in Seoul with clothing shops on both sides

A First-Time Visitor's Guide to Korea's Underground Shopping Streets

You're looking for the exit.

Then clothing shops appear on both sides of the corridor. A few steps farther and there's a bag shop, and somewhere, the smell of food. Some people are picking through the racks. Others just walk past.

All you want is to get out of the subway station. Instead, you're standing in the middle of a shopping street.

Is this still a station, or a mall?

Still Inside the Station, but There Are Shops

At large subway stations in Korea, passing through the ticket gate doesn't lead straight to a staircase up to street level. Follow the exit signs, and a long underground corridor stretches ahead, with small shops lining both sides.

First-time visitors pause here for a moment.

That's normal. In Korea, places like this are called underground shopping streets.

At first glance, it looks like a department store below ground. Walk through it, though, and the difference is clear. In a department store, you move by floor: women's clothing on one floor, shoes on another, the food court on another. The stores are spacious, and the brand names catch your eye first.

In an underground shopping street, the corridor comes first. Small shops sit along the long route, and they appear one at a time as you walk.

You don't find things by floor. You find them by walking.

The Passage Came First. The Shops Came Later.

Underground shopping streets are unfamiliar because they're two things at once.

Several underground shopping streets in Seoul were not originally built as shopping malls. In the 1970s and 1980s, some served as air-raid shelters and public underground walkways. Others were built as shopping areas inside or around subway stations.

The passage came first. The shops came later.

That's why different movements overlap in the same corridor. On one side, someone picks out clothes. Right beside them, people hurry past. Some stand there until it's time to meet someone. Some look for the food stalls. Others head off to transfer to another subway line.

Walking through without buying anything is fine.

It's both a mall and a passage.

Even People Who Live in Seoul Get Lost Here

One place in Seoul that shows this well is the underground shopping street connected to Express Bus Terminal. It runs beneath the spot where Subway Lines 3, 7, and 9 meet. Koreans call it Goto Mall.

When you first enter, the end is hard to see. A clothing shop appears. Walk a little farther, and there's another clothing shop.

Here, many people have the same thought.

How far does this go?

Hundreds of shops line the long corridor. There are no windows, and no view of the outside. The corridor looks the same all the way through, and so do the items for sale.

Then this thought:

Am I lost because I don't know Korea well?

No.

People who live in Seoul get lost here too. Even regulars end up wandering around again, wondering, "Where was that shop I saw earlier?"

That's how people walk here.

It's Just Two Corridors

It looks like a maze, but the structure is simple.

Two long corridors run side by side, each lined with small shops. The two connect here and there.

Keep walking, and you'll come back to a corridor you've already seen, or a place you recognize.

Trying to remember every shop from the start only makes things more confusing. Similar shops continue, and the small shop signs don't stick.

Remember where you saw it instead.

Which exit was closest. Whether it was toward Express Bus Terminal Station or Banpo Station. Whether you'd already passed the open area or the food stalls.

Remember the exit, not the shop name.

Walk the Full Loop Before You Buy

The shops here aren't spread out the way department store floors are.

Clothes hang close together in a small space. In shoe shops, shoes are stacked from floor to ceiling, and accessories crowd the small display tables.

At first, your eyes are busy. There's so much to look at that you don't know where to start.

But that's how underground shopping streets work. A small space shows you many styles at once. And a few doors down, similar clothes or bags turn up again.

There's no need to head straight to the register at the first shop. When something catches your eye, remember where it is and what it costs, then keep walking. There are only two corridors to cover.

There's often a pause at the register. Card payment is common, but some small shops ask for cash. A little cash makes that pause less likely.

Fashion-focused underground shopping streets carry mostly women's clothing and accessories. If you're looking only for men's clothing, there are fewer options.

Walk the full loop first. Then go back to the one you remember.

Underground shopping streets are everyday spaces first, and tourist attractions second. That's why they are part of everyday life in Korea.

On rainy days, people walk through without getting wet. On hot days, they escape the heat. On cold days, they stay out of the cold.

Getting lost doesn't mean you're doing anything wrong.

Ask whether this is a station or a mall, and the answer is both.

Remember the exit. Walk the loop.


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