Insadong Korean Traditional Market

A hot shopping point, Insadong market Seoul, photograph @ Ahmer Riaz

Insadong is a 700 m long street in the down town area of Seoul, Korea Republic. This place is famous for traditional Korean Handicrafts. At the end of Japanese rule in  Korea, in 1950's, Japanese settlers while retreat used to sold their house hold items in Insadong market and American Soldiers where there common buyers. The market holds over 400-500 shops full of spectacular items including jewellery, clothes, statutes, lamps umbrellas, key chains, masks, wooden toys and lots of many other things, some of them are claimed to be artifacts from the era of chosen dynasty

Handicrafts at Insadong Market, photograph @ Ahmer Riaz

 If you visit this market you will hear voices saying proudly "Hand Made, Made in Korea" the quote seems irony to industrial growth of Korea but is true.

An Old worker painting hand held fan at Insadong Market photograph @ Ahmer Riaz

The Korean Phoenix

photograph@Ahmer Riaz

This, Phoenix, was symbol of Korean kings since chosen dynasty, now used as national symbol Korea Republic. The Phoenix is resting on earth which have some flowers engraved on it. This flower is most resilient to harsh weather which depict the defy of Korean's as a nation against alien invasions by china and Japan. A family is shown in foreground of that phoenix which represent a strong family structure, based on  Confucianism  theory, in Korea Republic.