Dongdaemun Design Plaza

This post is especially dedicated to my sister in Islam – Fashida from Limbang, Sarawak.

A friend who is very generous in sharing her abundant love, insight and mostly her sincere friendship. I thank Allah for meeting an awesome person like you. May Allah grant mercy to your life in this world and in the hereafter. Amin.

The post this time is about DDP – Dongdaemun Design Plaza. A highly artistic building built in the middle of the fashion melting pot; Dongdaemun.

Myself is not a keen shopaholic of fashion, far from it. But when a design plaza rumored to be built around Dongdaemun area I just couldn’t wait to be its first visitor!

However, that wish was dashed as I had to be a tour guide on the day when Dongdaemun Design Plaza had its opening ceremony which was on 21^st March 2014.

On 27^th March 2014, I got my first opportunity to visit Dongdaemun Design Plaza with these lovely teachers; Am, Cik Teh, Fashida and Nazirah. 

The 'rocking chairs' design and the fringe is a shower. 

The place breathes design.

It rocks design.

Simply put in simple words. Hehe..

Care for some more stories about Dongdaemun Design Plaza?

"The Dongdaemun Design Plaza, also called the DDP, is a major urban development landmark in Seoul, South Korea designed by Zaha Hadid, with a distinctively neofuturistic design characterized by the "powerful, curving forms of elongated structures". The landmark is the centerpiece of South Korea's fashion hub and popular tourist destination, Dongdaemun, featuring a walkable park on its roofs, large global exhibition spaces, futuristic retail stores and restored parts of the Seoul fortress."

By Wikipedia.

Cafe' and bookstore for the two pictures on the lower part.

Make your good thing....er you mean D.I.Y.

EXO player anyone?? Sew your own shirt.

The scarf designed by Korean was gorgeous and lovely,

so was the Korean lady. Very kind.

The exhibition inside Dongdaemun Design Plaza is not stagnant. Just as design revolves around us you will see many changes from time to time to the exhibition held in it.

Each exhibition has an admission fee to it but I had entered none.

Me at the rooftop garden.

The area is quite spacious with the main building itself has about 5 floors and on top there is a park which was quite new when I first visited but by this time I guess the garden must be already fully developed.

It reminded me upon a building in Yokohama, Japan where they have a garden on top of its building. Nice view of the harbor too from the rooftop garden.

Anyway, what really strikes me about Dongdaemun Design Plaza is none other than the design itself. The building has futuristic nuance in it which I feel as if the designer has always been looking towards the future.

But..the future cannot exist if there is no past. So, the management of the building still hold a memory of the past by having a Dongdaemun History Museum. Free Admision to the museum.Nice!

They also build a waiting area in the middle of the space with some artifact mainly of rocks from the excavation.

I urge you to visit Dongdaemun Design Plaza if you have the extra time. It would take about two hours (for me at least) to really explore the place without entering the paid exhibition. So many stuff to see, explore, engage and enjoy!

Don’t forget to breath.in.the.design. ^^

How to go to Dongdaemun Design Plaza?

Go to Dongdaemun History and Culture Park Station. You can take either Line 2 (green), 4 (light blue) or 5 (purple) but the entrance to Dongdaemun Design Plaza from the subway is nearest to Line 2’s exit 13 and 14.

If you are from line 4 or 5, walk towards exit 13 or 14 and by the time you reach the entrance for Line 2, you will be able to see the entrance to Dongdaemun Design Plaza.

You can go to the shopping area of Dongdaemun like Doota, Yes APM and etc by going the underground passage through the Design Market - a place full with restaurants!