Techno Mart, Seoul

I think this place was poorly named when they called it "Techno Mart". Don't get me wrong, they have a HUGE selection of computers, computer parts, electronics, electronics parts... But that's only like a third of the building! If this mall only had 3 or 4 floors, then "Techno Mart" would be a fitting name. My impression of the so-called "Techno Mart"...this is one of the largest shopping malls I've ever seen. I'm from the U.S. (New Hampshire). The largest mall in my area is called Pheasant Lane. Comparing Techo Mart to Pheasant lane... They are both shopping malls with a similar mix of stores and selection of goods. Primary differences between the two malls would be... Techno Mart is roughly 5 times the size of Pheasant Lane (and Pheasant Lane is a very large shopping mall!) Techno Mart has an incredible selection of computer parts and electronics parts...where Pheasant Lane basically has NONE of that... In the United states, they have these things called "computer shows", which have almost faded to nonexistence, but they still have some, infrequently. Probably the most famous of them was the Ken Gordon production (KGP) computer shows. They would rent out a large conference center or stadium or something... And hundreds of computer vendors would sell computers, computer parts, etc...at the computer show. Anyway, a couple of floors of the Techno Mart very much remind me of the computer shows that used to be very popular in the U.S. The layout is well, almost identical. You have hundreds of areas (not really stores, just a collection of tables and counters) where vendors have their selection of computer parts displayed...along with a menu of systems you can order for them to build the computer for you. And of course, if you speak Korean...you can order any custom computer you want, built right there on the spot. But while I'd gone to "Techno Mart" to look mainly at computer parts, I did take some time to explore the whole thing (not just the computer stores) I found a HUGE selection of clothes, housewares, furniture, appliances, hardware... My overall impression? It was a shopping mall that my wife or any of my previous girlfriends would fall in love with. OK, so maybe they'd never go to the upper floors, ha ha... But if you are the kind of person who loves to "shop until you drop", you will feel right at home at the so-called "Techno Mart". It is a mall. It is a HUGE mall... On a side note, it has a good selection of computer stuff (unlike most malls). But I'd definitely list that as a side note.

My epxeriences at Techno mart near Jamsil have been various. My last trip left me quite angry. I am in the market for a HD video camera. The salesmen at the 4th floor canon dept. were extremely rude to me. The cameras are not connected to power and don't have batteries attached, so I politely asked if he could attach power so I could browse the options etc of a certain camera. He then proceeded to say "this camera is very expensive. Very expensive."That's when I got angry. You don't know me, or how much money I have! So i said, "Ok! I don't care, that's fine!" THEN he says, "you buy today?" aaaarrrh!! Now i'm trying to compose myself. "Maybe this week." He reluctantly took the battery out, and put it in the camera. I'm not going to buy a camera i have never powered up before. After awhile of checking out the camera, I politely said thank you and started to leave. As i'm walking away he yells and points at the camera with a "Are you kidding me? You're not buying right now?? type of look. I will never attempt to shop their again. Boo, to complete jerk salesmen.

Not as busy and crowded as Yongsan, I like Tecnomart better. There are still an abundance of small shops with comparable prices to Yongsan shops. And I find Technomart friendlier to me as a Westerner. Plus the food court on the 8th floor and B1 levels provide excellent variety. My favorite is the Greek Gyro/Kebap place on B1: tasty and inexpensive. Yes, prices in S Korea are more expensive than some other world locations because of import duty and sales tax. Sales tax is already included in the prices that the stores charge, not added on at the checkout like the USA. But small peripherals and computer accessories are abundant here, and I have found many of the small computer shop owners on floors 7 and 8 very helpful and reasonable in price.

well, it's not BestBuy or Circuit City for sure... but it's got all the stuff you need. you just need to go up and down the escalators and look for whatever you need. there's too many little kiosks so you need to look around a lot. make sure to look around and ask for prices so you know where you can get whatever you're looking at the cheapest price.