For 6,000 won, roughly 60 cents, I can travel in gloriously air-conditioned subway cars from one end of the sprawling city to the other. Each station concourse doubles as an underground shopping mall, with tiny stores selling everything from combs to cameras to car wax. The longest, Ulchiro Underground Arcade, runs nearly two miles between five different stations. I emerge from the subterranean world at Namdaemun Market , one of several enormous marketplaces that look like jigsaw pieces on a map of downtown. My initial impression of the scene is that a Kmart has exploded, the merchandise conveniently landing in neat piles, sorted by subject.
Entire stalls sell nothing but buttons or chicken feet or chili peppers.
Some guy hawking women's slacks suddenly lets out a yelp, and all the women within earshot rush over and begin excitedly sorting through the pile. Obviously, this is Namdaemun Market's equivalent of the blue-light special. There are some good bargains here, but, unfortunately, Korean clothing sizes run too small for my six-foot frame. In this damp alley, hidden from the sun, weary women squat over cutting boards of green onions and Korean radishes. Others disappear in and out of doorways, balancing trays of food on their heads.