[REVIEW] Visit Korea VIP Invitation Tour Day 1: Kondae Common Ground 커먼 그라운드

Hello! It’s been a very busy first month of the year for me, so I only have time to blog on weekends now. Actually, I kind of miss travelling, and I hope to be able to do so again soon… ^^

Anyway, my Visit Korea VIP Member Invitation Tour blog series continues with a review of the world’s biggest and Korea’s first pop-up container shopping mall, Common Ground in Kondae.

After going to Nature Kitchen 자연별곡 for lunch, having a fun afternoon at Trick Eye Museum and Ice Gallery, and coffee at Hello Kitty Café 헬로키티 카페 in Hongdae, we travelled for an hour to reach Kondae, the name of the area surrounding Konkuk University Station (Seoul Subway Line 2, 7). It was quite a long ride, so most of us slept at the bus. 

I read about Kondae before going on the trip and I was so excited to actually be there. But now I realized I’ve actually been there before, during my first trip in Seoul, to visit Super Junior Yesung’s Mouse Rabbit Café. I love the youthful vibe there, as well as all the shops selling lots of cute stuff. At that time, I was hoping to explore more of the area but we only had an hour to stay then because we had to catch a concert. It’s good that I actually made it back. Next time though I’ll allot more time especially for shopping and hanging out at the cafes.

Common Ground is a large blue building made by pilling up 200 shipping containers, each with their individual number codes, in Gwangjin district at Kondae by the Kolon Industries FnC fashion company just early last year (April 2015). The structure was then converted into a pop-up shopping mall. I found their concept really unique, and well, kind of earth-friendly. They have around 70 stores filled with a lot of good finds, from accessories, clothes, caps, shoes, cellphone cases, cosmetics, and a whole lot more! The brands there aren’t the usual ones that you’ll find at the mall, since I heard that they want to support new small, and medium-sized company brands.

My panoramic shot of the entrance of Common Ground

Aside from the main mall area, Common Ground is also consists of the Street Market, Food Truck Market, the Market Hall, a central square called Market Ground, and a top deck (3rd floor) called Terrace Market.

Regularly, they hold various exhibitions, performances, and weekend flea markets as additional attractions for visitors. When we were there, they have the 1000 penguins exhibition, which is a collaboration project between Kolon Sport and Common Ground. We weren’t able to see the adorable penguins though.

If you get hungry, you can check out Common Ground's food trucks which offer various gastronomic treats (I really wanted to try Kimchi Bus!). We were actually supposed to try them for dinner but it was raining then, so we just had a tour of the mall. There’s also a wide roster of trendy restaurants and cafes that you can try inside the mall and at the Market Terrace. I actually like the elegant ambience and view from the terrace.

Common Ground's Food trucks on a rainy night

Photo ops by the bridge. Say Kimchiiii! Photo Credit: Jeanne Therese Kurniawan

Common Ground's Kolon Bridge

Kolon Bridge during day time (credits: commonground.co.kr)

View from the bridge

I think the Market Terrace is good for date nights or Friday Night Outs :)

Here’s my detailed review of Kondae Common Ground (커먼 그라운드):

Ambience: 9 ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

- I like the modern feel of the place, and considering the materials they used in building it, I find it very distinctive and I admire the ingenuity behind it. Although it is not the first container mall/pop up shopping mall in the world, it’s the first of its kind in Korea (and they say, it's the world's biggest).

I also like the little touches of inspiration and art that one can find in certain areas in the mall.

When we were there, there aren't so much people around so it's quiet, probably because it was night time already and it was raining too.

Value for money: 8 ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

I wasn’t able to buy anything, but I was able to do a little window shopping.^^ The prices are quite reasonable for me, I think a bit cheaper than mall prices, which is probably because the brands there are not mainstream brands. Of course, if you convert them to Philippine Peso, they get a little bit expensive because of the difference in conversion rates :)
All items are quite stylish too, I think this is also because their target market is the youth. 

Warner Bros. watch for KRW 50,000 (Php2,000); perfume for KRW 7,000/12,000 (Php 280/ Php 480)

(SALE) Customizable Caps for KRW 21,000/ KRW 31,000 (Php 840/ Php 1,240)

Bargain clothes for KRW 19,800 (Php 792)

Accessibility: 10 ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

They cover a huge area, more like an entire compound, and the structural design is quite unique so it’s hard to miss.

Will I go back to this place? : Yes.

- I’ll probably try shopping for clothes, as I find their styles really fashionable. I also think that aside from shopping, it's a cool place to hang out as there are a lot of things to see, and since they constantly come up with things to attract visitors in the area.

Other important details about Common Ground (커먼 그라운드)  :

Operating Hours: 
11:00am-10:00pm

How to get there?

[SUBWAY]

Get off at line 2 or 7 at Konkuk University exit 6. Walk straight about 2 blocks and you can find it on your left.

Address: 13-28 Jayang 4(sa)-dong, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, South Korea

Contact number: +82-2-467-2747

Nearby Attractions: Dalbongi Hanu 달봉이 한우, Ttukseom/Yeoido Park Snow Slope 뚝섬여의도 눈썰매장, Ttukseom Flea Market 뚝섬 아름다운나눔장터, PoBar 포바

For inquiries and more details, you may check out the following sites:

Website: http://www.common-ground.co.kr

Facebook Account: https://www.facebook.com/commonground.1st

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If you want to know the rest of our itinerary for this trip, you can check out my first blog post about the Visit Korea VIP Member Invitation Tour.

Many thanks again to Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) for making this trip possible. You can check out the KTO official website and follow their accounts on Facebook and Twitter for details on tour sites and packages, as well as helpful tips in travelling to Korea.

For Filipinos, follow Korea Tourism Organization Manila at Facebook, Twitter, and KakaoTalk (@ktomanila) for the latest updates on Korea tourism, events, tour packages and promos. :)