Gentle Monster The Salvation Moon • 젠틀몬스터 플래그십스토어

Visiting Gentle Monster Sinsa flaghip store (젠틀몬스터 신사동 플래그십스토어) to check out their new installation has somewhat became a tradition for me every time I visited Garosugil (가로수길) after I haven’t been to the area for a while. Since they always change their interior almost every season, it almost feels like visiting a new store every time I stepped into their newest campaign. But at the same time, the place also gave me a sense of familiarity since the location, the layout of the building, and the products they are selling remained unchanged. Here’s what the current campaign is all about:

Gentle Monster kicks off the ‘13’ Campaign in Korea through a reimagined Sinsa Flagship named, ‘The Salvation Moon’, The new space tells a story of the world impacted and changed after the 13th Month, painting the stories of survival of different life forms. The Sinsa showroom illustrates an oriental hope-filled message behind the struggles and desperation of those whom worship and pray to the new moon for salvation.

— Gentle Monster website

The one thing that struck me the most when I stepped into the store was that the installations reminded me of Stranger Things for some reason. The combination of the outer space elements with creatures that resemble monsters, or aliens really, gave me a strong Stranger Things vibes, especially the flower-shaped-claw-machine like installation that opens and closes slowly on the second floor. It really reminded me of the head of the Demogorgon. Anybody else think so too or is it just me?

Gentle Monster Sinsa Flaghip Store • 젠틀몬스터 신사동 플래그십스토어

Address: 서울특별시 강남구 압구정로10길 23
Telephone: 070-5080-0196
Hours: 12:00 - 21:00 Daily

Instagram: @gentlemonster

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Bread Lab • 브레드랩

Bread Lab (브레드랩) is the place where you can go to to find a selection of homemade bakery in the neighborhood of Yeonnam-dong (연남동). Make your way to the entrance of the bakery on the second floor of the house like structure, which also serves as a home to one of the popular Thai restaurant in the area on the first floor. The vintage vibe of the brown wood aesthetic which covered the walls and ceiling of the room will greets you as soon as you stepped into the main area of the bakery, in addition to a row of fresh baked bread and pastries laid out for you to choose from.

There were a couple of other girls who were contemplating on which bread or pastries they should put on the trays on their hand when I was there. I have to say that Marshellia and I had the same problem too when the time came for us to choose which item we should try. Good thing that they put out signs for their best seller items and we ended up picking the interesting looking Green Tea Danish, which was ranked 3rd according to the displayed sign, to share. After we paid for our danish and our drink, we sat ourselves on a table next to the open door leading to the patio area. The Green Tea Danish was good. Super flaky and not too sweet, just the right amount of green tea and powdered sugar mixed together.

After we’re done with our food, I wandered around the bakery and found out that the place is actually bigger than what it seemed to be from the outside. There is another sitting area next to the room that we were sitting in and their outdoor patio area is actually pretty spacious too. Too bad it was a little hot that day so we opted to stay inside, near the door to avoid the hot sun but close enough to the outside to enjoy the gentle cool breeze that blew once in a while.

In terms of the atmosphere, I think this place might not be comfortable for long hours of study session since I found that the height proportions of the chairs and tables are a little bit awkward and uncomfortable, especially if you have to sit up or do some work on the table for a long period of time. But in terms of hanging out and chatting with friends, I think this place is a pretty nice option for it.

Here’s a video of the place:

Bread Lab • 브레드랩

Address: 서울특별시 마포구 연남동 229-67
Telephone: 02-337-0501
Hours: 10:00 - 22:00 Daily

Instagram: @bread_lab

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On My Playlist #02

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On My Playlist #01

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Marymond Lounge • 마리몬드 라운지

I found Marymond Lounge (마리몬드 라운지) purely by accident during one of my neighborhood exploration walks. The weather was hot and after almost an hour of walking around, I was craving for something cold and refreshing and this place came into my view at the right timing so I decided to go in. Marymond Lounge is not only a cafe, but also a store as well as a community place from what I gathered after I went in and spent a good hour there. At first, I thought it was a normal store that sells goods ranging from clothing, bags, accessories, and phone cases. But then I saw a sign saying that they are also supporting some kinda of a cause. My Korean vocabulary wasn’t good enough to understand what the whole statement meant, so I decided to google it. And here’s what I found out:

“Marymond started eight years ago as a way to help restore the dignity of the victims, euphemistically called comfort women, who were forced to work at frontline brothels for the Japanese army.

A bracelet attached with a small charm of a girl statue - a symbol of comfort women - is sold at 12,000 won (S$14.50), while an eco-bag with simple Marymond logo is 10,000 won. Proceeds from the sale goes into a fund to care for the 37 surviving victims and to establish a sex slavery museum.

The company's success is not just driven by public interest in the unsolved issue, a long-standing thorn in Korea-Japan relations, but also reflects the rise of "conscious" consumption, experts say.”

Source: Strait Times (Read the full article here)

I think it’s cool what they are doing with the brand and how it raises awareness to different social issues in the community. Plus I think the items are very well-designed too. After I finished my drink, I left the lounge right before they were closing it for a private gathering of a group of young people. Also, I believe I’ve seen their products on different stores around Seoul so if you’re interested in buying any of the Marymond products, just keep an eye on them when you go shopping.

Marymond Lounge • 마리몬드 라운지

Address: 서울특별시 성동구 서울숲6길 12
Telephone: 070-4245-8865
Hours: 11.00 - 21.00 Daily

Instagram: @themarymond

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