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Four Indoor Shopping Places in Seoul: Myeongdong Underground, Nakwon Arcade, AK Plaza Hongdae and Starfield COEX

Myeongdong Underground, Nakwon Arcade, AK Plaza Hongdae and Starfield COEX compared on what they sell, what form each takes and what closing means at each. "Closed" means something different at all four, and their published shop counts and floor areas are not measured the same way.

Updated Sep 2, 20264 min read

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A basement-level concourse in Starfield COEX Mall, shoppers crossing polished stone floors past a display counter and a clothing store

All four count as indoor shopping in Seoul, but they are a public underground arcade, a single-trade instrument market, a station department store and a large complex — different enough that putting their shop counts and floor areas side by side goes wrong.

The published numbers measure different things

shopsfloor areahours
Myeongdong Underground Shopping Centre613,838 m²09:00–22:00
Nakwon Musical Instrument Arcade~3506,852 m²Mon–Sat 09:00–20:00
AK Plaza Hongdae——weekdays 11:00–22:00 · weekends and holidays 10:30–22:00
Starfield COEX Mall——daily 10:30–22:00

The two areas do not measure the same thing. Nakwon's 6,852 m² is one floor of it — the source writes "the second floor alone is 6,852 m²". Myeongdong's 3,838 m² is the whole arcade. Side by side Nakwon looks 1.8 times the size; that is not a comparison but two numbers measuring different objects.

The shop counts are not on one scale either. Nakwon's 350-odd are all instrument shops — the arcade has dealt in nothing else since 1970, and four floors of it are a single trade. It shares only the words "shop count" with Myeongdong's 61.

The other two publish neither figure. With half the cells empty, this table cannot be read as a ranking by size.

'Closed' means four different things here

  • Myeongdong Underground Shopping Centre — closed, and still walkable. The shops shut at 22:00 but the concourse stays open 24 hours. Crossing a shut arcade to come out the other side is a thing you can do.
  • Nakwon Arcade — some of it opens on the closing day. Sunday is the rest day, and the source writes "Sunday: some shops open". It adds that it is open all year round apart from Sundays — public holidays and national days included. With 350-odd independent shops, the arcade's hours and a shop's hours are not the same hours.
  • AK Plaza Hongdae — no closing day at all. And on weekends and public holidays it opens thirty minutes earlier than on a weekday. It opens earlier on the days others open later.
  • Starfield COEX Mall — the one of the four with a single timetable. Daily 10:30–22:00. Though the same page lists ZARA at 10:00. A mall's hours are not automatically the hours of everything inside it.

Myeongdong has two underground arcades — which one to head for

shopsfloor areaopenslocation
Myeongdong Underground Shopping Centre (this list)613,838 m²09:00–22:00under Namdaemun-ro
Myeongdong Station underground arcade702,215 m²10:00–23:00under Toegye-ro

The names are similar and they are minutes apart on foot — and the one with more shops has less floor area. Opening and closing times differ by an hour at each end.

What this list points at is the one under Namdaemun-ro, joining Lotte Department Store's main branch to Myeongdong's main street. A notice that says only "the Myeongdong underground arcade" could mean either, so check the address.

How to choose between them

To wait out a long wet afternoon, Starfield COEX. It is the largest of the four, and Starfield Library and the COEX Aquarium inside it give you something to do that is not shopping.

If you are already in Hongdae, AK Plaza sits on top of the station, so you can get in without going outside — and it has no closing day.

If you are walking Myeongdong, treat the underground centre as a route rather than a destination: the concourse stays open after the shops have shut, so you can cross to the other side through it.

Nakwon Arcade is the one of the four worth seeing without buying anything. A whole building given over to a single trade is not a common sight in Seoul.

In this list

  1. Seoul

    Myeongdong Underground Shopping Center

    The underground arcade beneath Namdaemun-ro, joining Lotte's main department store to Myeongdong's main street. Of the four it is the one whose concourse stays walkable after the shops shut, which makes it a late-hours shortcut across. Myeongdong has a second arcade with a similar name, so go by the address.

    What it sells
    Clothing and general goods underground
    What form it takes
    A public underground arcade
    What 'closed' means
    Shops shut, the concourse stays open
    Best for
    Passing through Myeongdong

    09:00–22:00Open year-round

    See details

  2. Violins hanging in a row in an instrument shop inside Nakwon Musical Instrument Arcade
    Seoul

    Nakwon Musical Instrument Arcade

    An arcade that has dealt in nothing but musical instruments since 1970, with more shops than any of the other three and every one of them in the same trade. Floors differ by instrument rather than by category, so even without buying anything, a whole building given over to one trade is the sight.

    What it sells
    Instruments and gear, and nothing else
    What form it takes
    A building filled by a single trade
    What 'closed' means
    Some shops open on the rest day
    Best for
    An interest in instruments

    09:00–20:00 · varies by shopEvery Sun

    See details

  3. Seoul

    AK Plaza Hongdae

    A station department store sitting on top of Hongik University Station, which you can enter without coming up to street level. It is the one of the four with no closing day at all, and on weekends and public holidays it opens thirty minutes earlier than on a weekday.

    What it sells
    Department store floors and food
    What form it takes
    A store built onto a station
    What 'closed' means
    It has no closing day
    Best for
    Staying dry, or filling time in Hongdae

    Mon~Fri 11:00–22:00 · Sat·Sun·holidays 10:30–22:00Open year-round

    See details

  4. A concourse on the lower level of Starfield COEX Mall: shoppers crossing a polished stone floor, an accessory cart and clothing units to the right, and an overhead wayfinding sign listing the exhibition and convention centre lobby, the Oakwood hotel, casino, cinema and aquarium, and ASEM Tower and Bongeunsa station.
    Seoul

    Starfield COEX Mall

    The large complex spread under COEX, and the one of the four with a single timetable — though that time is not the time of everything inside it. Starfield Library and the COEX Aquarium are both in here, so there are ways to spend the hours that are not shopping.

    What it sells
    Stores, food and attractions in one complex
    What form it takes
    An underground shopping complex
    What 'closed' means
    One timetable for the mall, not for its shops
    Best for
    Ending a day indoors

    Mon~Sun 10:30–22:00 · SEA LIFE COEX Aquarium 10:00–20:00 (last entry 19:00) · Starfield Library 10:30–22:00

    See details

Frequently asked questions

Can the four be compared on the same terms?

Barely. All four count as indoor shopping, but their published numbers measure different objects. Nakwon's 6,852 m² is one floor of it while Myeongdong's 3,838 m² is the whole arcade; Nakwon's 350-odd shops are all instrument dealers, sharing only the words 'shop count' with Myeongdong's 61. And AK Plaza Hongdae and Starfield COEX publish neither figure.

Does 'closed' mean the same thing at all four?

No. Myeongdong's concourse stays open around the clock even when its shops have shut; Nakwon's rest day is a Sunday on which some shops open anyway; AK Plaza Hongdae has no closing day at all; and only Starfield COEX runs a single timetable — and even its own page lists ZARA at a different hour.

Which Myeongdong underground arcade is this?

Myeongdong has two with similar names. This list points at the one under Namdaemun-ro, joining Lotte Department Store's main branch to the main street. The other is the Myeongdong Station arcade under Toegye-ro, which has more shops but less floor area, and opens and closes an hour apart from this one at each end.

Where should I go if it rains?

Any of them — all four are indoors. Starfield COEX absorbs the most time, and Starfield Library and the COEX Aquarium inside it give you something to do besides shopping. If you are already in Hongdae, AK Plaza is built onto the station, so you can get in without going outside.

Is Nakwon Arcade worth visiting if I am not buying an instrument?

As a sight, yes. It has traded in one thing since 1970, with different instruments on different floors, and a whole building given over to a single trade is not a common thing in Seoul. Do note that with 350-odd independent shops, the arcade's hours and any one shop's hours are not the same hours.

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