Wandering around Hongdae before my meetings.
Made an impromptu trip to Seoul after returning to Singapore for less than 48 hours. In the 3 days that I was there, I managed to set up a few designer meetings, visited different areas (hongdae, myungdong, namdaemun, dongdaemun, garosugil, apgujeong, gangnam, itaewon), shopped and caught up with a college buddy of mine. It was my first time in South Korea and I was taken aback by how rude and unfriendly people were (for comparison’s sake, Parisians are way nicer)! Whether I was asking the concierge for recommendations, asking passerby’s for directions, taking a taxi or just going about my day, I kept encountering unpleasant people. My Korean friend told me on my last night that locals are pretty hostile to outsiders. Such a shame. I wonder how different my experience would have been if I spoke Korean.
From Taipei to Singapore to Seoul in 2 weeks. Being constantly on the go has depleted my energy level and aggravated my skin.
The consistency of this local dessert was like honey… hard honey. Biting it actually hurt my teeth! Took me a few minutes to get everything out of my teeth! Looked like the epitome of class while doing so.
Samsung white chocolate given out in Hongdae.
Yup, ate pancakes in Seoul. I don’t really enjoy Korean food. I find that many dishes have a lot of MSG and salt.
Selfie time. Shameless self-promotion is an unspoken requirement of running a startup.
My dad’s friend took us to Jungsik in Gangnam for dinner on our second night (the one in New York was recently awarded 2 Michelin stars). Everything was soooo delicious, especially this uni fried rice. Hands down the best meal I’ve had in the last few months. Is that sad?
Cigarette-shaped meringue dessert at Jungsik. Not a fan of sweets but gave it a try anyways. Felt bite-sized diabetes.
At Tosokchon on my last night in Seoul. Best chicken ginseng soup!
Shots of ginseng.
Dongdaemun (the East Gate of Seoul) is a popular shopping destination among tourists and locals. Great for finding trendy clothing, shoes, bags, accessories at affordable prices. I was surprised by how cheap things were. You could get better quality clothes than ZARA at half the price!
Doota is one of the more popular malls in Dongdaemun. Worth checking out if you are visiting Seoul and have a few hours to kill.
A local biking off with bags of clothing bought at one of the wholesale markets in Dongdaemun.
The streets in front of the malls in Dongdaemun were lined with bags and bags of clothing, shoes, bags and accessories purchased by locals at the wholesale markets. Many come to Seoul to purchase in bulk to sell back in their provinces.
The look of sleep deprivation.
My trip was too short and I wasn’t able to accomplish as much as I had hoped (finding designers). I had a translator present at some of my meetings but I felt that a lot was lost in translation. So frustrating. It’s been pretty difficult looking for quality up-and-coming designers. Many designers focus on apparel and those that do design jewelry, bags and accessories are few and far between. I thought attending trade shows, trolling designer fairs and going to universities would make it easier to infiltrate the designer community and source talent, but the opposite has been true. I feel like I’m playing hide and seek each time I go to a new city. It seems like many of the designers I’ve met in the last few weeks face similar problems (whether they are 2 years or 10 years into their business). Many would love to travel to get inspiration, participate in overseas trade shows, expand into new categories, experiment with new techniques, hire a bigger team but are unable to do so because they are cash-strapped. My hope is that with our new site, we can help these emerging designers tap into a new market and gradually make a difference to their business. Only time will tell!
