Dapsimni Antique Town: A Market In Seoul, Korea
Antiques big and small everywhere is what you’ll see around Dapsimni Station. Having lived here for around 6 years now and realizing I won’t be leaving any time soon, I’ve decided I want my house to feel more like a home and less like an interim abode in a far off land. If you’re looking for antiques in Korea, or Korean antiques, then make sure to check out the Dapsimni Antique Market (답십리고미술상가).
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How To Get There
Address: 530 Dapsimni-dong Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, Korea (동대문구 답십리동 530)
By Subway: If you head out of Dabsimni Subway Station, exit 1 or 2 and head in from the main road one block, you’ll find the market area. Make sure to walk up and down the back street because the antique market is in multiple buildings and they are numbered 1 through 6 so it’s easy to make sure you’ve been in each one.
What To Expect At The Market
When I googled antiques in Korea the three popular areas to look were Insadong, Itaewon and Dampsimni. I’ve been to Insadong many times and there are a lot of antiques there to be sure, but they also cost an arm and a leg.
Itaewon is another destination I’ve been to numerous times in my 6 years here and as of yet hadn’t noticed a lot of antiques, but plenty of knock-offs, and so I headed to Dapsimni to see what it had to offer.
There are three main buildings to be found here with antiques inside and sitting outside, not that they could be taken that easily as they are mostly huge stone statues out there, but they’ll allow visitors to spot the right place easily.
Out of Dapsimni Station exit 1 if you turn and walk a block in away from the main street you’ll find Dapsimni Antique 2-dong town building, 5-dong building, and 6-dong building (답십리고미술상가). They all appeared quiet and lacking customers during our stroll and I gathered from the way the shop keepers said hi but paid little more attention than that the days here are mostly quiet and they don’t mind it.
My friend and I stuck our heads in the shops and had our looks around, also enjoying the antiques left stacked to the ceiling in the halls.
One building had more ceramic goods and the other had more trunks and wooden goods, but in general all three of the buildings were similar. Prices were anything from the W15,000 I spent on some old glass balls used to hold up fishing nets to millions of won for some very old trunks.
I’d have to say that nothing here looks nearly as pretty and clean as that in Insadong, but I think that if you took anything home from Dapsimni and cleaned it yourself, you’d end up with the same thing for cheaper.
I’m hoping to go back and buy a nice set of old table setting dishes and utensils for a proper Korean Seollal table setting of our own. After taking part in the traditional ceremony at my new in-laws home recently I think that will certainly be something necessary for our home eventually and an old set is perfect.
The shopkeepers were all older and not pushy like a lot of shopkeepers can be here in Korea when shopping. They were very open to talking and explaining what things were for and about where and when everything came from.
Even if you can’t afford to buy a Korean antique the shop keepers would add to any cultural experience here. For another market experience, definitely check out Gwangjang Market near Jongno 5-ga. That market is known for fabrics, traditional Hanboks and good good food.
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