We’re celebrating Seoul Week on ExploreMetro! We’ve teamed up with Seoul Sub→urban to bring you stories and pictures from around Seoul. Every day this week we’ll bring you one of their profiles of a Seoul Subway station, today it’s Nonhyeon (논현역) .

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Nonhyeon (논현역)

Line 7 – Station #732

Arriving at Nonhyeon at noon, we emerged from the station to find the morning’s rains stopped and a bright midday sun glinting off puddles and still-wet street signs.  What had looked like it would be a gloomy, damp outing an hour ago had been transformed into the perfect weather for Nonhyeon-dong’s signature sport: armoire hunting.

From Exit 1 or Exit 8, all the way down Hakdong-ro to Hakdong Station runs Nonhyeon Furniture Street.  For several blocks both sides of the avenue are lined with almost nothing but furniture stores.  Most are of the high-end variety, which you would expect just south of the Sinsa-Apgujeong-Cheongdam golden triangle.

A number of stores carry domestically made products or furniture whose style reflects Asian influence.  The most eye-catching of these was Tongyeongchilgi (통영칠기) where enormous lacquered chests, wardrobes, and armoires with mother-of-pearl inlay were on display in the front window.

Most shops, though, seem to supply imported pieces or work that is heavily cued by European design.  This predilection is reflected in a quick scan of a number of the stores’ names: F. Angelico, Maison Francaise, Italiano, Leicht, Giotto.  Most of these places had classy, elegant furniture in classy, elegant buildings, but we also came across the occasional Old World mistake.

Read the full post on Seoul Sub→urban >>

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