Dongdaemun vintage shop Kitty tumbler & PVC bag haul: Viva Trade

I love browsing vintage shops, so while I was near Dongdaemun I stopped by Viva Trade Eulji Dundaun Dongdaemun Branch, known as a mecca for vintage shopping near Dongmyo in Seoul! It's popular not just for vintage goods but also as a Kitty goods shop, so I went in planning to pick up some Kitty items too... haha.

Location and how to get there

Viva Trade Eulji Dundaun Dongdaemun Branch is right in front of Exit 11 of Dongdaemun History & Culture Park Station. Three subway lines pass through here, so the accessibility was amazing!

It's located on the 5th floor of the Dundaun building. Viva Trade is a place that so many celebrities and influencers have visited, including NewJeans and Beenzino.

First impressions of the 5th floor store in the Dundaun building

Viva Trade Eulji Dundaun Branch has so many other places to shop besides Viva Trade itself, so it's worth setting aside a whole day for a visit. With Olive Young, Uniqlo, and Ashley all in the building, you can handle meals and shopping all in one trip. The Daiso in this building is apparently a whopping 500 pyeong..! Since my purpose was Viva Trade, I took the elevator up to the 5th floor! The Viva Trade store is so huge it catches your eye the moment you step off the elevator.

It's a store that opened within the past year, so it was really clean. They've also run pop-up stores at The Hyundai Seoul and Shinsegae Gangnam, so I went in with even higher expectations.

A 200-pyeong warehouse vintage shop — what brands are here?

I went in knowing it was supposed to be huge, but it was even bigger than I imagined. It's a proper warehouse-style shopping space, so it was great to browse and try on clothes comfortably. They say it's the largest warehouse-style vintage shop in Seoul at 200 pyeong!

At first I thought I'd mostly be browsing familiar brands like Levi's, Polo, and Lacoste, but once I actually looked around there were tons of domestic Korean brand items too! Some people who shop vintage tend to look only for famous brands, but I actually found it fun to see such a wide variety, including these local boutique and domestic brands.

Since it's a vintage shop near Dongmyo, it's worth stopping by Viva Trade if you're already in the area.

An all-items 20% off period

The clothes, from tops and bottoms to outerwear, were really well taken care of, so a lot of them didn't feel very 'vintage' at all. I could have been convinced they were brand new!

When I visited, they were running a 20% off all items promotion, so I paid 20% off the listed prices. I already thought the prices were reasonable, and with an extra 20% off on top, it was such a smart purchase at this Dongmyo vintage shop, Viva Trade Eulji.

I thought there was already a huge amount of stock, but apparently 100 new items come in every single day..!!!

The vintage cups and dishware corner

There were so many vintage cups you can't easily find elsewhere, and they were so cute. Anyone who loves vintage goods is bound to love this Dongmyo vintage shop, Viva Trade.

They sell all kinds of cups, plates, and bowls that would look even cuter as interior decor!

The Kitty Zone I couldn't walk past

A Kitty Zone I couldn't easily walk past... Kitty has been catching my eye more and more lately, so I thought, okay, today I'm definitely bringing a Kitty home with me hahahaha.

How to enjoy Dongmyo vintage shopping best

The charm of vintage shopping near Dongmyo, I think, lies less in going to buy a specific item and more in browsing around and stumbling on things you never expected. Viva Trade also had everything from familiar brands like Levi's, Polo, and Lacoste to local boutique and domestic brands, which made it fun to hunt for pieces that suited my taste.

If you're someone who likes picking through clothes and goods one by one rather than shopping by brand alone, I'd recommend giving yourself plenty of time to browse slowly! The place is huge, so it's better to take it easy. For those of us who love character goods, discovering cute items like Kitty stuff is a nice bonus..!

Vintage clothing condition and the hat corner

I've been to vintage shops all over, but the quality of Viva Trade's vintage clothing really stood out to me. There was little sign of wear, yet you could still feel that distinctive vintage character, which made it such a great place to shop for vintage clothes.

So many Levi's pants and Polo shirts caught my eye. They also had a really wide range of sizes, so it felt like you could just pick out whatever suited your taste hahaha.

Anyone who loves vintage hats would find plenty to score here too! You can't talk about vintage without hats, right?!

Even vintage Apple items

This Dongmyo vintage shop, Viva Trade, was truly the ultimate vintage mecca..!!! I never expected to see an iPod here. They even stock vintage Apple items, and those were also 20% off! It's a place where you can get hard-to-find vintage items at even better prices, and if Viva Trade were near me, I honestly think I'd visit all the time.

They're also running an Instagram event, so if you're interested, tag Viva Trade and grab a cute keyring too!

The Kitty items I bought

What I ended up buying was a cute Kitty tumbler and a Kitty PVC bag that I plan to use as a swim bag.

I originally meant to just browse casually, but I ended up finding cute Kitty items and buying two of them. Still, getting 20% off made me feel even happier about the low price! I loved being able to browse everything from famous brands to domestic Korean brands, and above all, this Dongmyo vintage shop, Viva Trade, had the fun of discovering things you'd never expect. If I'm ever near Dongdaemun again, I'll definitely stop by.