Korea: Garak market part two

Garak market is an established agricultural and fish wholesale market open to the public. In recent years it's come under the wave of modernization, as many markets have, and been updated with a shiny new shopping center to replace the original warehouses. The new building is air-conditioned, bright, and clean- all good things, right? And there's parking available on each of the floors, of which there are three, each tailored to a particular need. The ground floor comprises the majority of the photos I took as I found it the most interesting of the three. The second floor was more or less a Costco-style store with vast quantities of a wide array of foodstuffs available, and the third floor was all restaurants. I didn't make any purchases, partly because I'd already been out and about all morning and was growing tired, but also because the trek home was going to be quite long and I wasn't sure if I could eat any substantial meal without summarily falling asleep on the train....then waking up in some far off train station confused. 

The move for modernization was pushed as being an unavoidable necessity as the surrounding neighborhood itself grows more modern and affluent. Whether that is true or not is debatable, but residents are probably grateful to have a cleaner market to do their shopping in. I felt a bit underwhelmed by the experience, but this could also have been in part due to my getting there later in the day. I've read that if you arrive early the market is more lively as the butchers prepare their cuts for the day and fishermen have their latest goods being carved or tanked for the day, but other blogs have said that they arrived early only to find the place as desolate as I found it. Perhaps the newer building has priced out vendors with higher rent, as was the case for many vendors who resisted the move to the New Noryangjin building. 

Still, as tired as I was, I wanted to make the best of it and get as many photos as I could before heading towards home. Even though they're not as exciting, there is a certain charm to catching places like this during the slow periods. 

More photos below!

Until next time!

💓

XOXO,

NAU