A Korean Odyssey|Antique Story, Itaewon — The Shop That Sold the Dearest Teapot

104 Bogwang-ro sits on Itaewon’s antique furniture street, a kilometre of sofas, clocks, and rooms that look older than the hill they occupy. VisitSeoul records Antique Story as the shop where Son Oh-gong had to telephone Sha Wujing before he could buy the most expensive teapot in the house. The street itself began in the late 1960s, when departing soldiers sold what they could not ship. VisitKorea still lists the strip at 109-1 Bogwang-ro. Hours at Antique Story run 10:30 to 18:00. Sunday is dark. The drama needed a room that already knew how to hoard. This street had been doing that for fifty years. Walk six minutes from Itaewon Station Exit 4 and the European wood starts before the neon does. Do not expect a plaque on the teapot. Expect dust in the grain, a price that requires a call, and a door that still opens on weekdays.