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Seoul abounds in shopping areas. With shops that border both sides of the streets
in those areas sell everything from electronic appliances to household items as
well as trendy apparels and shoes. Confirming to this tradition of shopping streets,
Itaewon-dong Shopping Area in Seoul is dotted by more than 1000 different
shores. These shops sell all kinds of shirts, jackets and caps.
There is an interesting tale about how Itaewon got its name. According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, "I" in Itaweon stands for foreign and "Tae" means pregnancy. Combined together this means foreign pregnancy. A very sad reality took place during the Japanese occupation of Seoul during 1592-1598. The encroaching Japanese army raped female monks residing in Unjeong-sa temple which was located in the same place where the market now stands. As a consequence, the raped monks became pregnant and started living in tents. Because the pregnancy occurred by foreign invaders, the place therefore started being called Itaewon. However there is a different interpretation too regarding how the place got its name. Though the victims bore children as a sad consequence of Japanese invasion, the place got its name because somebody planted a pear tree in that area. Since "I" also means pear tree and "Tae" stands for big. So Itaweon also means place of a big pear tree. Notwithstanding the controversy regarding its name, Itaweon is famous as a shopping venue. From 14th century onwards Itaweon has had been the entrance point of travelers coming from the Yeongnam area of Korea to Seoul. Located on the banks of Han River, this area could be reached easily by boat. All this factors contributed in making this place a great venue for shopping. The Itaewon-dong Shopping Area is now stretched to over 1.4 km in length and is lined by thousands of shops. Selling everything from jacket to shoes; jewellery to cosmetics; this area is frequented by many foreigners. Besides all the shopping, you can also refresh yourself in many restaurants and bars that are distributed throughout the entire stretch of this shopping trail. The vendors besides Korean Won, accepts Dollars and Yens too. You can pay by any major international credit cards as well. Some vendors even speak English and Japanese.
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