Western Discount Dept Store

It’s not a department or discount store, more like an indoor Korean swap meet. I’m there on a Saturday, close to noon, and it’s pretty dead. I walk around and I’m starting to get memories of being underground in a Korean subway terminal where the stores are squished together. They got a selection of stuff — electronics, jewelry, shoes, handbags, accessories, undergarments, flowers, beauty supplies, etc. Each section individually owned and operated. The items seem to be all manufactured locally or back in the Mother Land. I smell knock offs.
You don’t speak Korean? Don’t come here because the items are overpriced and you need to bargain by paying cash. If you don’t, then you’re probably paying too much. They’re gonna follow you around, appeal to your vanity, possibly rude, will ask you questions, and most importantly, make sure that you’re not stealing their shit. There’s a security guard outside with a gun, not a good sign. For instance, when you see a securiy guard outside of a bank and they carry guns, that bank branch tends to have more issues.
The only reason I came here was to help my mom pick up a pair of casual clogs at one of the stores called Monroe Shoes. I think she paid too much for it but if she needs it, oh well. She knows what she’s doing.
Parking sucks. I judge about 16 spots so you can park on Western Ave or across the street in the Rodeo Galleria lot. They’re open every day from 10AM to 7PM. They close twice a month, on the 2^nd and 4^th Tuesday of each month.
Personally, I don’t think I would ever buy anything here for myself. I wouldn’t come back here unless… we’ll I wouldn’t come back.

I pass by this place on my way home. Everyday.
Been inside a total of 5 times since I moved to Ktown.
I guess being korean im sorta used to these indoor-​esque market places. Like a cleaner version of the open air markets you’d see in Chinatown.
Ok so long story short, this place kinda sucks.
First off, you walk in and the word «clusterf-​ck» comes to mind.
75% of it is Korean clothing made and manufactured somewhere in LA. The styles are great, and frankly I think the clothes here rival that of forever 21 since they’re all original independent designs.
My issue is with the prices. Either their overhead is too… over-​their-​head or these people are crazy.
For example, underwear goes for 2 for $ 20. That’s $ 10 per underwear. 1 underwear. Now tell me… is that a good deal?
Like I said, the clothes here (especially girl stuff) are great, but the prices keep me away from this place like the bubonic plague.
I love my korean peeps, but seriously. you guys needs to reorganize your layout. Make it more easier to navigate, separate the damn clothes from electronics and shoes.
My advice if you choose to venture here is be wary of nagging korean ladies trying to rip you off. Haggling is almost mandatory here so prepare for battle.
And yes, theyre watching over you like a hawk in case you’re trying to steal something. You damn criminal.

This place was such a cluster that I didn’t even like staying inside. Its just really packed to the brim with so much fake Korean everything that I didn’t even know where to start. There is so much better in K Town LA that this place just doesn’t make sense…
The parking here can be a drag so be aware!

This store was a big dissapointment D:
I came here today because I was very curious since it’s fob clothing (one of my fav styles!) and cause of the word ‘Discount’ XD
It’s a pretty big store with lots and lots of clothing, accessories, jewlery, makeup etc. The clothes were totally my style and looked really cute, but the prices were ridiculous! $ 55 for a regular looking cute shirt? It was just an oversized shirt with some random image on it! $ 75 for plain black capris? Are these people crazy?! XD It’s not even designer clothing!
So obviously after asking the women what price this and that was (there are no tags on the clothing) I left empty-​handed after 10 minutes. It was waaaay overpriced. Almost everything there was imported from Korea and I know Korean and Japanese clothing are expensive, but THAT expensive? I know of online stores that sell fob clothing for half the price. Yes, the clothes here look really nice, but it’s definetly not worth the price.

discount dept store… well when i see that, i think like nice stuff at a discounted price. like a marshall’s, nordstrom rack, tj maxx, ross, loehmann’s type ‘discount dept store’
and then when you put ‘western’ in front of the discount dept store, you think like stetson cowboy hats, hand crafted cowboy boots and belt buckles and crap like that. and then you find yourself in korea town thinking, maybe its for the mexicans that like sporting their western wear. but then you realize, that its located on western street in ktown. so which western is it??? and how much of a discount is it???
ok, so this place is more like… something you would see on the travel channel, something in korea? or asia? never been there, but this is the idea that i get.
this place has TONS OF CLOTHES. pretty much ALL the clothes are imported from korea. i’m assuming this b/​c its so FOBBY. but there is nothing wrong with that b/​c fobs got style, and actually their trends precede trends in america b/​c we suck at style, so this might actually be a great place to find some unique finds.
if you’re like me, you’ll pretty much take any opportunity to scour racks and racks of stuff when you’re in the right mood to find that one of a kind, really really cool piece of clothing that you wish you had thought of first at a really great and totally worth the time kind of price
so back to this place, tons of clothes, shoes, bags, wallets, and hair accessories. this place is kinda ghetto in the sense that its like a huge warehousey room with dividers for each ‘store’. theres like one or two people that can help you, and i doubt most of them can speak fluent english. you can change behind a shower curtain type thing, they totally follow you around when you’re looking at stuff (I HATE THAT!!! SOOOOO ANNOYING) and they ask you if you think this or that is cute, and tell you to try it on. i HATE upselling. especially when i don’t know enough korean to tell you to leave me the hell alone when i’m shopping. they also call mom’s UNNI and totally try to butter them up and be all buddy buddy and annoying. they tell you everything looks cute on you and makes you look slimmer. prices wise, i was hoping for a place so ghetto that at least the prices would be dirt cheap. but it wasn’t even like that. i felt like stuff wasn’t really worth what you were paying, maybe even overpriced. some stuff i feel like i can find in ‘american’ stores, even maybe like a forever 21, some stuff was waaaay tacky, that you might not be able to find in ‘american’ stores. HAHAH
i can’t believe it… BUT I LEFT EMPTY HANDED. what the BUCK?
so you can park in the garage across the street at the koreatown plaza or whatever its called, theres street parking, as well as a tiny lot on the side of the building.
MOST of the time, places like this prefer cash (i’m not sure if they take credit). and if you use cash, you also have the power to haggle the prices down. do yourself a favor and haggle if you feel confident enough, b/​c you might be getting ripped the heck off.
places like this, it might help that you speak korean. maybe spanish too. HAHA
i would MAAAAAYBE come back here if i had tons of time to kill, and wanted to try my luck at finding something different. but something tells me i probably will spend my hard earned cash for some korean good eats instead.