Yangjae Flower Market

Last week I went with a group of friends to the Yangjae Flower Market or "Flower City" near Seoul.  This flower market is the largest in the Seoul area.  The market opens at early at 4:00am.  The flower selling ends at 1:00pm but venders selling other things stay open later.  The earlier you go, the better the selection of fresh-cut flowers.  There are numerous buildings that include greenhouses and nurseries, retail stores, and an auction room.  You can buy live potted plants, flowers, trees, shrubs, bonsai trees, cacti, and herbs.  You can also buy large pots, soil, seeds, and gardening tools.

We spent most of our time in the two-story building on the property.  The bottom floor was full of thousands of fresh cut flowers but the top floor was packed with dried flowers, silk flowers, vases, baskets, ribbons, wrapping paper, fabric tissue paper, and decorative accessories.  This is a gift-wrapper's and wreath-maker's paradise!  I stocked up on spools of ribbon and gift wrapping supplies before moving out of Korea.

It's worth the trip even if you simply walk around, look at all the colors, and inhale the divinely sweet fragrance filling the air.  However, you most likely won't leave empty handed when you realize the flowers (even the roses) are only a few dollars per bunch!

Directions to the Flower Market at the end of this post.  To see a map of the location, copy/paste these coordinates ( 37.466185,127.040201 ) into Google Maps.

How to get there driving:  The flower market is just off of Expressway 1.  The exit is the one south of the Yangjae exit.  The best way to recognize it is that there are only three tall buildings off of that exit and they are next to the flower market: the Kia headquarters, the Hyundae headquarters, and the AT Center.

How to get there by subway:  There is a new subway line (DX Line) that will take you very close to the Flower Market.  Take the new red DX Line and get off at the Yangjae Citizen's Forest station.  Leave the station at Exit 4 and walk straight (about 0.2 miles / 0.3 kilometers) until you see the AT Flower City arch sign pictured below on your right.

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"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap
but by the seeds that you plant."
~Robert Louis Stevenson