Dongdaemun vintage shop: flawed polo shirt on discount, Viva Trade

Text and photos by Polp / All photos unedited

What kind of vintage shop is Viva Trade Eulji Dundaun Dongdaemun Branch?

Viva Trade Eulji Dundaun Dongdaemun Branch is a warehouse-style vintage shop that takes up the entire 5th floor of the Dundaun building at Dongdaemun History & Culture Park Station, said to be the biggest in Seoul. I like shirt shopping at vintage shops, so I went on a day off.

I used to go to Viva Trade back when it only had a shop in Namyangju, so I love that this one is at Dongdaemun History & Culture Park Station, easier to reach than the Dongmyo vintage shops. And it has become a trendy brand, even doing a pop-up at The Hyundai lately!

Viva Trade fills the 5th floor of Dundaun and is close to the Dongmyo vintage stores, but it's a more pleasant place in summer than the Dongmyo vintage mecca, with used clothes in good condition. You can even push a cart around while you shop, which is a plus!

I also heard it's a vintage hot spot where well-dressed celebrities like Beenzino and NewJeans have stopped by.

What makes Viva Trade better than Dongmyo vintage shops?

What's better than Dongmyo is the promotion: you don't have to haggle, because buying more gets you a discount automatically. Buy 3 vintage items and get 1 free, or get a discount by purchase amount, which makes vintage shopping even more fun.

There are full-length mirrors all around so you can see how the vintage pieces look, and the fitting area was roomy and comfortable.

On top of that, 100 new items come in every day!! Staff carefully remove lint and steam every piece.

What clothes and accessories does Viva Trade have?

As the biggest vintage shop in Seoul, it has a huge variety of clothes.

What made shopping here so good, besides being spacious and comfortable unlike the Dongmyo shops, was that the clothes are neatly sorted by category!

There are skirts, pants and clothes from all kinds of countries, plus a sports uniform zone! There's the thrill of maybe finding a rare item if you look hard enough.

There were also unique fashion accessories on display, like glasses, scarves and neckties. Even just a unique scarf or tie makes you look well dressed, right? I recommend starting your vintage shopping with simple accessories like these.

There are even party-style dresses here. I have a trip to Southeast Asia coming up, and an exotic dress like this would be nice to wear there.

How are the fitting rooms and interior at Viva Trade Dundaun Dongdaemun?

This is a big Seoul vintage shop that opened within the past year, so it has 4 clean fitting rooms, with full-length mirrors and even chairs, which makes shopping so much fun! I think fitting matters even more with vintage clothes, and here you can shop carefully.

The shop's interior is also unique, so it works as a photo spot as well as a place to shop.

You can try things on without feeling self-conscious, and access is great too: it's on the 5th floor of the Dundaun building at Dongdaemun History & Culture Park Station!

Is a flawed polo shirt for the ₩40,000s worth it?

While wandering around Viva Trade, I bought a polo shirt with a slight flaw. Shirts with small flaws like this get a good-value discount, which I love! And if a stain washes out at home, that's a total win, right? When I got home and washed it, the stain really did come out ✌🏻

I got a thin polo shirt I can wear often in summer for the ₩40,000s, so it was a happy vintage shopping trip 💗 I recommend Viva Trade Eulji Dundaun Dongdaemun Branch as a vintage shopping mecca.