Travel Thoughts: Apujeong (압구정역) Station and its surroundings

Apujeong (압구정역)

It was after the secret garden tour at Cheongdeokgung that DramaQueen suggested going to Apujeong to visit a famous café there… To be more precise, it was the Kona Beans Apgujeong Store (opened and operated by the mothers of Super Junior members). So armed with the subway map and instructions on how to get there, we made our way to the Apujeong MRT station. The instructions seemed simple enough, but we never found the place and ended up walking for at least 2 hours (haha). Nevertheless, it was an interesting 2 hour walk as we walked past quirky cafes, boutiques (vintage, local, imported etc…), restaurants and the Hyundai Department Store, as well as the Galleria.

Apujeong (압구정역)
Poem to read while waiting for the train
 
Although seemingly architecturally the same as the rest of Seoul, Apgujeong has its own luxurious feel with famous department stores and luxury brands. Apujeong is located within Gangnam and is famed as a hangout place where celebrities and models reside and hang out, alongside entertainment companies such as SM Entertainment. What intrigued me the most about Apujeong was the number of plastic surgery centers and advertisements that promoted plastic surgery: from the moment we arrived at the mrt station and made our way out, all the way to our nice little stroll along the streets of Apujeong nearby.

Apujeong (압구정역)
Suzy's Advertisement
Apujeong (압구정역)
A little plastic anyone?

Random Thoughts: With the advertisements and strategic positioning of the clinics, so much emphasis was on external appearances and plastic surgery that it is no wonder it has become a norm to strive to be ‘beautiful’, allowing people to have unrealistic expectations/standards of beauty. Beautifying oneself is a perfectly normal thing. But when one feels inferior to what is considered the norm of being beautiful, no matter how much changes (and surgeries), if a person is not happy (and/or satisfied) with the way they look, there will be no end to it.

Apujeong (압구정역)
Shops, banks and more
Apujeong (압구정역)
Restaurant with an interesting name
Apujeong (압구정역)
Clinics, clinics, clincs
Apujeong (압구정역)
Hotel

Besides the prominent plastic surgery clinics, advertisements and dermatologist clinics scattered throughout, the little stroll made me take notice of the cars that were in the area. Maybe it was because it was in an upscale local where celebrities are (and can be spotted) and/ or that most of the cars were driving at a leisurely speed, but more than 80% of the cars (that drove past us) around this area had extremely dark tinted windows. The shade of tinted glass is darker than what we would normal see in Singapore and considering the location; it does make one wonder who is in the car with windows tinted so dark driving past (lol). 
Share on Google Plus

About TravelBytez

When travel collides with a byte, a unit of information made up of bits, TravelBytez is formed: snippets of ramblings on travel, food, shopping, living and anything else that comes to mind.

0 comments :

Post a Comment