KOREA HERALD
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| COEX in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul |
This is the 42nd in a series of articles highlighting tourism spots in Seoul. The guide for planning weekend trips in the capital city will help readers rediscover Seoul. - Ed.
By Jung Bo-sang
With its 55-story Trade Tower, 41-story ASEM Tower, spacious exhibition and convention facilities, Grand Inter-Continental Hotel, COEX Inter-Continental Hotel, Korea City Air Terminal, and cultural and recreational sites like shopping malls in an area of 605,221 square meters, COEX has all the facilities of a luxurious cruise ship.
COEX started as a complex that provided lodging, meeting facilities, and recreational facilities for foreigners visiting Seoul on business, but it is now evolving into a cultural complex for everyone.
Come to COEX for fun
COEX Mall is crowded with fashion forward shoppers, trend setters, and bons vivants. Here you can find cutting-edge gadgets, the latest fashion and exotic food. COEX Mall starts at Millenium Square, which is linked to exits 5 and 6 of Samseong Station on Subway Line 2. Take a stroll along Sanmaru Road and Supul Road. All the paths in COEX Mall have names related to nature and water - “Sanmaru” means mountain ridge, while “Supul” means forest.
SupulRoad leads to the food court “Lake,” which is covered by a huge glass pyramid. A variety of dishes are served here at reasonable prices. Continue straight along Hosu Road you will get to a crossroads with Pokpo Road, where a variety of events for youths are held all year round. Take Gyegok Road if you want to visit COEX Aquarium or enjoy a movie at the multiplex theater Megabox or Pokpo Road if you want shopping at the large bookstore Bandi & Luni’s or state-of-the-art IT products.
COEX as a cultural complex
COEX, which has been leading Korea’s convention industry through a variety of exhibits and seminars, is being transformed into a major cultural complex in Gangnam, or southern Seoul. It is home to the small theater COEX Art Hall (184 seats), Piano Fountain Square, where concerts and events are held, Jangbogo Hall for photo and painting exhibits, and Auditorium (1,058 seats) for musicals and plays.
Opened on April 30, 2009, COEX Artium is a modern building shaped like a traditional man’s hat called “gat.” It features two musical theaters, a trade promotion hall, and a gallery. The musical theaters are designed to enhance communication between actors and the audience by bringing them as close together as possible. The musical “Youth Parade” is now on stage at one of the theaters until Oct. 25.
Kimchi Museum
The Kimchi Museum on the second basement in COEX displays a wide variety of kimchi, prepared with various vegetables and seasoned with brined seafood. It looks like a small farmhouse with its cozy atmosphere and lighting. A pottery stand with earthenware pottery in various sizes is found at one corner of the museum as kimchi is usually stored in earthenware.
The museum features various exhibits covering the origin and history of kimchi, video clips that show how kimchi is prepared, the various ingredients that go into the dish, and even samples for visitors to taste. It is a popular place for those who are interested in cooking and children as they can compare kimchi with various salted dishes of other countries and observe the lactic bacteria in kimchi under a microscope.
Homepage:
http://www.kimchimuseum.co.kr
Business hours: Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (admission by 5:30 p.m.)
Closed: Every Monday, national holidays including New Year’s Day (one day), Lunar New Year’s holidays (three days), Chuseok holidays (three days), Christmas (one day)
Admission: 3,000 won for adults, 2,000 won for students, and 1,000 won for young children (2 years or older)
Eco-friendly shops
The third floor of COEX Artium, which opened last spring, houses a variety of eco-friendly shops. These are “factory shops” in which artists, designers, and technicians create artworks and sell them on the spot. Ssamzie came up with this idea in order to provide an arena in which artists share their art with the general public and put love for the environment and nature into action. In the factory shops, you can have bags, shoes, and clothing of your own design made with the materials of your choice. Some 20 shops feature various unique fashion accessories, organic denims made with organic cotton, personal seals, and fabrics. Some of the eye-catching shops include “Greenist Mill,” an eco-friendly natural cosmetics shop, “Ggoppinni Studio,” a traditional paper, or “hanji,” craft shop, and “the Dream of Korean Native Bees,” a shop that deals exclusively with honey produced in Mount Yongmun.
Business hours: Monday, Saturday, and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Location: 3rd floor in COEX Artium
Aquarium
One of the most popular dating spots in COEX would be the aquarium. Although aquariums in general tend to be family-oriented places, it is not uncommon to find romantic couples here. COEX Aquarium boasts some 600 marine species and some 40,000 fish and other animals - Korea’s largest collection. Otters are the most popular animals. Children in particular cannot get enough of the semi-aquatic mammals for their cute looks and rarity. Go there at around 4 p.m. and you can feed otters and see them up close. One of the most memorable sites at COEX Aquarium is perhaps the acrylic tunnel that cuts through a gigantic tank. The first of its kind in Korea, the tunnel gives you the impression that you are underwater - without getting wet. The 72m-long moving walkway takes you through the aquarium underneath large sharks and rays. Visitors who bring a Megabox Theater ticket get a 2,000 won discount to the aquarium.
Homepage: www.coexaqua.co.kr
Business hours: all year round from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Tel.: 02-6002-6200
Admission: 15,500 won for adults, 13,000 won for students, and 10,000 won for children
Plan in advance
One of the charms of COEX is that it is rather maze-like. But it does mean that navigation can be a little tricky if you are a first-time visitor. To help visitors find their way, the COEX Mall homepage provides a map that you can print out before you go. Look through the map and decide where to visit and in what order.
Visit the homepage
The COEX homepage has everything you want to know about COEX. Visit the COEX homepage (www.coex.co.kr) for information on events and exhibits, the COEX Mall homepage (www.coexmall.com) for information on shopping, food and films, and the COEX Artium homepage (www.coexartium.com) for special events and performances. The information on admission, public transportation, and various facilities provided on the homepages will help you enjoy COEX even more.
Get a discount
Don’t leave home for COEX without the credit cards that offer discounts.
Visit the homepages to check if you have the credit cards that offer discounts at stores in COEX, as each credit card offers different benefits.
Avoid peak hours
One of the best ways to avoid long lines at COEX is to visit the museum or the aquarium in the morning and enjoy events and performances in the afternoon. Being an early bird is a great way to make the most of your trip to COEX.
2009.09.04
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