Dongdaemun General Market

This guide to Dongdaemun General Market in Seoul traces how a market flattened during the Korean War rebuilt itself along the Cheonggye stream, growing into the largest complex of its kind in Asia by 1970. It follows the building's own logic, from cotton and everyday cloth on the lower floors up through silk and satin to the racks reserved for bridal fabric. Merchants here still open before dawn for the wholesale crowd, and close the whole complex every Sunday.