South Korea LEGO Store Visit: Dongdaemun Toys and Stationery Street Market

Tuesday, January 30th, 2018 by Brickfinder

I was in South Korea for some work and decided to do a super quick whirlwind tour of all things LEGO in this lovely country. I managed to track down the fabled Toys and Stationary Street Market in Dongdaemun.

The subway system in South Korea may look quite daunting at first but it is actually quite convenient once you get used to it. There are two ways to reach the Dongdaemun Toys and Stationary Street as it is located right in between Dongdaemun and Dongmyo Station so you could get out at either station.

Dongdaemun Station

Take Subway Line 1 (Dark Blue) or Line 4 (Light Blue) to Dongdaemun Station (Exit 4).
Continue walking about 50m and turn right at the second street.
Just follow the street down and you will reach the LEGO toy store.

Dongmyo Station

Take Subway Line 1 (Dark Blue) or Line 6 (Brown) to Dongmyo Station (Exit 6).
Take a right at the first street.
Just follow the street down and you will reach the LEGO toy store.

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The toy street is essentially an outlet ‘mall’ for toys. In its heyday, LEGO used to be more prominent all along the street but now sadly it is replaced by Lepin and other clone brands.

However, the main attraction for me was Seung Jin Wan Gu (승진완구) which is located right in the heart of the Toy and Stationary Street. You can’t miss it as the facade is adorned by a giant bear and gorilla. They are pretty much the only store on this street which sells LEGO amongst other toys.

Prices of LEGO in at Seung Jin Wan Gu is surprisingly comparable to Singapore. Just to take a sampling of the prices here: a LEGO Ghostbuster HQ (75827) goes for ₩449,910 which is SGD$549.

Locally, Ghostbusters HQ (75827) retails for SGD$599 and once you apply the 10% member discount, it drops to approximately SGD$539. Not too bad considering that the general consensus so far is that LEGO in South Korea is very expensive.

The LEGO selection is pretty much restricted to current mainline sets with some EOL ones like the LEGO Marvel Avengers Helicarrier (76042). The store actually has a basement and a second storey but all the LEGO is located on the first floor.

Its a pretty cool place to visit as there are a lot of other cool toys for you to look at and it also carries Oxford sets (South Korea’s own Brick System) and you can get a discount on some sets if you ask at the cashier.

Apologies as I don’t have that many exterior shots of the street, is mainly because it was -16 degrees out and my camera was too cold to hold for extended periods of time!

Just a tip, if you are visiting this place during the winter, it can get very cold so I would recommend a hat, gloves, scarf and a good jacket if you want to traverse the market.

(Special Thanks to Jae Won Lee and Brian Yu for all your help on this trip!)