Myeong-dong Commercial District Booming

Kim Jung-hyun (30) had a date with his girlfriend along the Cheonggye Stream last weekend. The office worker and his date lunched at a restaurant near Euljiro station and they walked to Myeong-dong to buy clothing for his girlfriend.

Every weekend, couples and families come out to Cheonggye Stream and go straight to Myeong-dong to enjoy shopping. This expanded the commercial district from Jongno through Euljiro and to Myeong-dong.

Pedestrian Belt in the Spotlight-

The prime example of the extended commercial district is the area near Euljiro 1-ga subway station and Mugyo-dong, located between Myeong-dong and the Cheonggye Stream.

Near the subway station that is directly connected to the Myeong-dong central road, the center of the commercial district, family restaurant chains are in a hurry to secure an optimal place. T.G.I. Fridays, Outback Steak House, Bruschetta, and Bennigans are springing up within a radius of 50 meters of the station.

Kim Kyung-tae, manager of Bruschetta, said, “Restaurants have keen interests in the area near the Euljiro 1-ga station that directs to the Myeong-dong central road.”

The rental fee is relatively affordable. On average, a deposit is 100 million won and the monthly rental is 30 million won near the Euljiro station, relatively cheap compared to the Myeong-dong area of 500 million won in deposit and 50 million won in rental fee.

The rental fee in this area is expected to rise steadily. The location that attracted the store development team of restaurants has high potential to add value as commercial districts.

Mugyo-dong area, which used to be slow on weekends, is changing fast with the restoration of the Cheonggye Stream.

A Korean restaurant owner said “Because there are mostly offices nearby, it used to be slow on weekends, yet the restaurant is very busy with family strolling along the Cheonggye Stream on weekends. The sales increased 20 percent after the restoration of the stream.”

Ryu Wang-sun, manager of store development team of Familymart, a convenient store chain, said “The Myeong-dong commercial district is bit by bit expanding with the pedestrian route from Jongno, Euljiro to Myeong-dong, along the Cheonggye Stream”

The Spreading Impact of the Cheonggye Stream-

The ramifications of the restored stream are spreading to stores near Myeong-dong central road.

“After the restoration, restaurants and shoes stores are witnessing their sales increase. They are benefiting from the stream’s restoration,” said Kim Jae-hoon, director of Myeong-dong store development association.

The shopping district, which used to have only shops on the road, is transforming with high residential office buildings constructed here.

“We launched the construction project, banking on enlarging Myeong-dong commercial district and office workers around Euljiro as main customers,” said Sin Sung-kwon in charge of selling lots of Art Nouveau Centum where 100 10-story studio apartments with four stories basement.

A realtor in Myeong-dong said “The Ministry of Culture and Tourism plans to reopen the national art center here, which will create synergy effect to transform the commercial district.”

Rental fee of existing stores is going up. According to Cushman&Wakefield, global real estate consulting agency, average annual rental fee here more than doubled to 13.28 million won per pyeong (1 pyeong = 3.3㎡), from 7.28 million won in 2000.

The rental fee in Myeong-dong is about 550,000 won per pyeong higher than that of Gangnam area. The once-threatened area is repositioning itself as core commercial district.

sukim@donga.com