A Day in Dongdaemun

I know I've written about Dongdaemun before; I go there often (usually to meet my Korean tutor for lessons).  I don't usually go with my husband, however.  So last weekend when he reluctantly agreed to go to the fabric market with me I was pretty excited.

I know I've told you about my husband's legendary patience.  He's handled pottery shopping, art museums, and a 3 hr. Target run with uncommon grace.  Still, I try not to take advantage of his patience too frequently--I'm told it will eventually run out.  The reason I dragged him to Dongdaemun last weekend was that I was picking out fabric for a duvet for his comforter.  The darn thing has feathers poking out all over, and I finally got tired of being scratched.  So I took the measurements and we were off.

We stopped first at a local restaurant for lunch--Tak Han Mari, or "One Chicken."  I'd been before with my tutor and thought Mike would enjoy the meal.  Basically it's a whole chicken in a pot with potatoes, green onions, and garlic.  As the chicken cooks, the waitress (or customer, depending on their level of experience I guess) cuts the whole thing up with scissors.  You eat the chicken with a dipping sauce of chili sauce, vinegar, hot mustard, and soy sauce.  Simple, but pretty darn delicious.

After lunch we headed to the market.  It was Chuseok weekend, so thankfully it wasn't too crowded.  We found a lady with a sewing machine and asked about having a cover made.  Of course she could do it, she said.  She had her husband walk us a few aisles down to the fabric stalls to pick out material.  Most of the fabric stalls were closed for the holiday, but that's probably a good thing since I have been known to want to look at ALL of the options before making a decision.  As it was, we really only had two stalls to choose from.  I started flipping through the stack.  "What about this one?"  I asked, pointing to a blue/brown flower-ish pattern.  "Uhh, I think I'm ok with anything.  Just not flowers"  was my handsome husband's response.  I looked down at the stack.  Every single pattern involved some size or style of flower.  Hmm.  "What about this one?" Mike asked, pointing to a multi-colored dot pattern.  "You like that one?" I asked--knowing my husband does not always like dots.  "Yeah, I kind of do."  So dots it was.  Back we went to the sewing machine lady, then to walk through the market and grab a cup of coffee before going back to pick up the finished product.  

Mike was tickled with the result.  "It's kind of cool, no?"  I agreed.  Now I just need to find pillow covers that match...