Paju Premium Outlet, Lotte Premium Outlet, 63 City

It was raining today so we decided to go to the outlets in Paju.  We're not really planning on shopping but is ready to be tempted if we see a good deal.

Getting to Paju Premium Outlets:
- Subway to Hapjeong Station, take Exit 2
- Take Bus 2200 to Paju Premium Outlets; bus ride is about 50 minutes to 1 hour

The highway is along the coast of Imjin River, so you would see the wired fence and spaced out military posts.  The bus passed by Lotte Premium Outlets in Paju (after about 30 minutes bus ride), Paju Book City, Odusan Observatory, Heyri Art, English Village Paju Camp to name a few.  It has stops in these places so if you're planning to go to one of these, you may also take the same bus.  Most of the bus stop announcements are in Korean.  However, for popular tourist attractions, they also have English announcements.


First stop:  Paju Premium Outlets

The stop in Paju Premium Outlets is in the back gate so the building is not that visible.  When we got off the bus, we crossed the street and walked up a plight of wooden staircase which led us to the parking area of tour buses.  The children's playground is on that back entrance of the outlet area, which is on the second floor of the building.

This outlet is the counterpart of the Premium Outlets in the US.  Compared to the ones I've been to in the US, there's not a lot of good deals here.  I printed out a coupon for the VIP booklet, but wasn't able to use any of the coupons there as I'm not really into shopping.  The shops here are more of the international brands and some local ones.  Most are clothing shops but there are also those of bags, shoes and kitchenware.  (If you're looking for the cosmetic shops, which could be seen almost anywhere in Seoul, then this is not the place to go.)  They have food court on the 3rd floor and some other fast food/restaurants.

Street View from one of the verandas

Visit Korea Page for Paju Premium Outlets

We waited for the rain to stop, it was around 2:30PM when it did.  We would have gone to English Village Paju Camp but it was already late so we took some more time here and just decided to see what's in Lotte Premium Outlets next.  We went back the way we came... through the tour bus parking lot, down the stairs and onto the bus stop.

Stairs to the bus stop	View from the bus stop
View from the bus stop	Bus Information System installed at the bus stop

Here are some pictures I took on the way back.  This time the windows are not moist and I was able to sit in the front row of the bus.

The building on the left is part of
English Village Paju Camp

Near Heyri

View of Odusan Observatory from the bus

Military posts and wired fence along Imjin River

Next stop:  Lotte Premium Outlets in Paju

I think Lotte Premium Outlets has a lot more outlets than Paju Premium Outlets.  This is where you'll find a mixture of foreign and more of the local brands.  I've also seen some of the cosmetic shops Korea is famous for.  From their website, it also has cinemas, the Lotte Department Store, cinema, Pororo Kids cafe and a bookstore.  I was looking for an English map when we got there but I haven't seen any (it must have ran out or they really do not have it).

The adults can have coffee while the kids are enjoying their time at Pororo Kids Cafe.  I'm not sure how much is the entrance fee for the kids as the signs are all in Korean.

The outlet has 2 buildings separated by a creek and bridges to get from one building to the other.  The bridge on the 2nd floor is named Star Bridge and there are handprints of some stars there.  The other bridge, on ground level is named Love Bridge where they have heart-shaped notes tied in the bridge.  Christmas is already in the air this early as they already have the Christmas trees and some Christmas lights inside the buildings.

View of the 2 buildings from the Star Bridge

Christmas is in the air

View of Love Bridge from Star Bridge

Heart-shaped notes in the Love Bridge

Love Bridge [Background: Star Bridge]

Visit Korea Page for Lotte Premium Outlets in Paju

It was already past 5PM when we hopped on bus 2200 again.  This time it was already crowded so we have to stand up to our destination.  Bad news... traffic was heavy going into the city, and the supposed 30 minutes ride took about an hour and a half to two hours.  We got off at the 2nd stop (Hapjeong Station) after the highway.


Last stop:  63 City

From Hapjeong Station, we took the subway to Yeouido Station (Exit 5).  From there, we hopped on the 63 City free shuttle bus.  The bus loops around 3 subway stations (not sure if this has changed) with a final stop at 63 City.

63 City Free Shuttle Bus

The building houses the Sky Art, Sea World, IMAX, Art Hall and Wax Museum.  The ticket counter is to the left upon entering the building.  They have promos like discounted tickets for 3 attractions, just make sure to ask them if it's not advertised.  But since we're only interested in Sky Art (actually just going to the sky deck), we paid the full price for it which is KRW11,000/person.

Admission ticket for 2 persons
to Sky Art Gallery

Sky Art is on the 60th floor and 2 glass-walled elevators are available to get there.

Picture taken from the glass-walled elevator

View from the sky deck

View from the sky deck

View from the sky deck

Sky Tunnel at the sky deck

Art and Fashion in the sky deck

Visit Korea Page for 63 Building