“Filling the bag is easy. Picking the one thing that stays with you is the hard part.”
The questions this character owns
- On a day when you want to buy everything, what is the one thing you would pick?
- When several shops sell the same item, where do you browse first, and where do you make your choice?
- At a place you recognise from a Korean drama, what kind of photo would you like to take?
How Mali decides
Mali is a 23-year-old traveller who works for a beauty magazine in Bangkok. Meetings with Korean cosmetics companies bring her to Seoul about twice a month. She uses her free evenings or a spare day to browse shops and visit places she recognises from Korean dramas. She smiles easily, and when she sees a colour she likes, she stops without a second thought.
What Mali looks at first
The first thing Mali writes down is what she is looking for today and how much she will spend. She might be looking for a lipstick, a skincare product or a few small gifts. Once that is set, the number of shops she actually needs to walk into gets smaller, however many there are.
Next come colour and texture. She compares the shade on the back of her hand with what she saw on screen or in photos, considers whether it suits her skin tone and checks how the product feels. She then checks the prices of the options she likes against her budget.
How she picks one
Mali’s pieces start from a colour, an object or a scene she likes. Rather than listing many things, they show what caught her eye and what she left out. On shopping days, she explores a brand’s colours and range in a single-brand shop and compares her options in a multi-brand shop. She narrows her choice down to one item, keeping her budget and the space left in her luggage in mind.
From the shop to the street
Mali doesn’t come to Seoul only to shop. She visits parks and streets she recognises from dramas and takes her own photos there. Rather than telling a character’s story, she records her own day in those places. Her finds in the shops and the photos she takes on the street become part of the same day’s memories.
What Mali doesn’t carry over
She doesn’t assume the displays or promotions from her last visit will still be there next time. In the shop she visits that day, Mali reads the notices and checks the displays, current offers and tester locations.
When the plan changes
If the product or shade she wanted isn’t there, Mali writes down its name. Whether to check another shop depends on how much time she has left and how far it is. If there is little room left in her luggage, she checks whether she has picked out several items for the same purpose. She leaves out the less essential ones, then checks how much space the remaining items would need. If nothing feels right in the end, she leaves the purchase for another time. The one thing that stays with her today doesn’t have to be something she bought.
Verification disclosure
In articles, Mali’s point of view is labelled “Mali Picks”. Factual information is recorded with its source and the date it was checked. Neither Mali’s point of view nor her images are used as sources for factual claims.
Leads
- Goto Mall: how to choose just one thing without losing your way — Mali enters from the Exit 8-1 side of Express Bus Terminal Station, walks the mall’s two long corridors, chooses one small item and heads towards the Han River for the evening. — Goto Mall is an underground shopping centre that runs for about 880 m.
- Seonyudo Park: one photo with a K-drama feel — Mali walks from Dangsan Station’s Exit 4 via Yanghwa Hangang Park and Seonyugyo Bridge, then frames her day among the pillars and walls of a former water treatment plant — Seonyudo Park is an island park on the Han River, built by reusing the buildings and structures of an old water treatment plant.
- Myeongdong 8-gil: how to choose just one Korean beauty product — Mali starts at Exit 6 of Myeongdong Station on Line 4 and spends the afternoon narrowing a list of candidates down to the one product she takes home — Mali starts her shopping at Exit 6 of Myeongdong Station on Line 4.
- Garosu-gil: bring home a colour you love — From Sinsa Station’s Exit 8 on Line 3, Mali heads to Garosu-gil, walks to its far end, then chooses one small item on the way back. — Garosu-gil is a street lined with ginkgo trees.