Corona 1 year… Collapse of major commercial districts in Seoul
Hundreds of millions of dollars of rights are also zero
Major commercial districts in Seoul, including Myeong-dong, collapsed in the aftermath of the spread of Corona 19. A citizen is passing by in front of an empty shop on Myeongdong street. Reporter Shin Kyung-hoon [email protected]
Major commercial districts in Seoul, including tourist attractions Myeong-dong and Itaewon, and university districts, Shinchon and Idae, are collapsing. In a situation of stagnation due to the decrease in overseas tourists, even domestic visitors were cut off due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19), which has continued for a year. Half of the shopping center on the first floor in the street is vacant, and the right amount from hundreds of millions of won fell to zero. Even the cost of closing business reached tens of millions of won, so some self-employed people went into business indefinitely.
On the 19th, reporters from the Korea Economic Daily visited Myeong-dong, Itaewon, and Shinchon and Idae commercial districts, where there were more closed stores than opened stores. Of the 67 shopping centers on the first floor located 500m from Noon Square, Myeongdong 2-ga, the entrance to the Myeongdong commercial district, to Myeongdong Station on Line 4, more than half of them were closed or vacant. Overseas apparel stores such as Uniqlo H&M, which entered Myeong-dong for’symbolism’ despite expensive rents, withdrew one after another last year. The 50-year-old Jeonju Central Hall, registered as a’Seoul Future Heritage’, also closed in July of last year.
In Itaewon, where a large number of corona19 confirmed patients came out last year, 16 of the 36 shops on the first floor of the World Food Culture Street (500m) were closed or closed. In front of Ewha Womans University, where students were reduced due to non-face-to-face classes, 47 out of 57 stores 200m away were closed or closed. Park Jin-sil (46), who operates a 214m2 coin-singing practice center near Sinchon Station on Subway Line 2, said, “Only the debts generated after Corona 19 are 100 million won.” I’m paying some.”
Gangnam Hope House monthly sales 30 million won → 5.5 million won… 80% of stores in front of Ewha Womans University are closed
Gangnam·Myeongdong·Itaewon·Idae, I looked around the core commercial districts of Seoul…
In every alley near Ewha Womans University in Seoul, there is a notice of’rental inquiry’. Reporter Kim Youngwoo [email protected]
Last Friday the 19th at 2pm in Myeong-dong, Seoul. As I entered Myeongdong 2, the entrance to the commercial district, in front of Noon Square, I saw six stores in a row with closed doors. At the front of the door, there was a notice saying’Lease inquiry’ and’Temporary closure’. Myeongdong 8-gil, the downtown area, was also full of empty stores. Of the 67 shopping centers on the first floor between 500m from Myeongdong Station of Subway Line 4, 34 were vacant or closed. The five-story building in the middle of Myeongdong 8-gil was entirely empty.
There were three or four customers visiting the clothing store on the 4th floor, and there were only one employee at the two cosmetics stores across the street without any customers. There were only three street vendors in operation. Mr. A, the owner of the clothing store alone, said, “The sales fell more than 90% compared to before the Corona 19 crisis,” and said, “I have not even expected the streets to revive.”
Myeongdong street’Tong Tong’ due to rapid drop in tourists
Major business districts in Seoul, such as Myeong-dong, Itaewon, and Sinchon, have walked downhill two to three years ago. This is because the number of customers has gradually decreased due to the increase in online transactions, and even Chinese tourists who have supported the commercial district have plunged. Corona 19 pushed out the self-employed man standing at the edge of the cliff’down’. Due to the quarantine guidelines that lasted for nearly a year, the floating population has significantly decreased, and business restrictions such as a ban on gatherings have also occurred.
The Myeongdong commercial area declined faster as tourists were cut off due to Corona 19. According to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Korea last month decreased by 98.5% compared to the previous year. This is the reason why cosmetics stores and clothing stores that tourists often visit have increased. According to the Korea Real Estate Agency, in the fourth quarter of last year, the vacancy rate for medium-sized shopping centers in Myeong-dong (three floors or more or exceeding 330㎡) was 22.3%, about 2.5 times the same period last year (8.9%).
The four-story building in front of Exit 8 of Myeongdong Station was empty after the Uniqlo Myeongdong Central Store closed on the 31st of last month. This is the largest 3729m2 (4th floor) UNIQLO store in Korea, with sales of 2 billion won on the first day of opening in 2011. The Myeongdong Noon Square branch, the first domestic store of Swedish fashion brand H&M, also closed in November last year, after 10 years of opening.
Billion of rights is’no rights’
The same was true of the Itaewon commercial district, where bars and clubs are gathered. At 6 p.m. on that day, 16 of the 36 stores on the first floor between the 500m World Food Culture Street behind the Hamilton Hotel were closed or closed. In one Italian restaurant, only 2 out of 15 tables had guests.
In Itaewon, after the outbreak of COVID-19 outbreak at a club last May, people stopped visiting. The order to prohibit gatherings issued to entertainment facilities for about eight months was also a direct hit. Until now, Itaewon has maintained its commercial district centering on entertainment facilities such as lounge pubs and clubs.
Hwang Mo, 46, who opened a lounge pub in Itaewon in 2018 with 900 million won collected over 20 years, had monthly sales of 60 million won before Corona 19. However, after opening his business, he had been in normal business for only a year or so. After that, it had to be closed due to an order to ban gatherings and a business ban after 10pm. Even during the opening period, sales did not exceed 10 million won per month. Mr. Hwang said, “Only fixed costs such as rent, electricity, etc. cost 35 million won, but the deficit accumulates, so we sent out all the store employees who used to be 18. Even if the door is reopened, we can only open until 10 pm, so we are considering whether to reopen. .
A notice was posted on a real estate in Itaewon stating that the first-floor shopping mall would be released at no interest rate. A restaurant owner said, “People are scared to come to Itaewon.” “In the next three months in this state, almost all merchants will not be able to withstand.”
University and business districts also visit’tuk’
Shinchon and Idae, Seoul’s representative university districts, were also busy on weekends. This is because the number of students has decreased as the university classes have been changed to non-face-to-face. On this day, only 10 of the 57 stores on the first floor were opened 200 meters from the main gate of Ewha University to Shinchon Station on the Gyeongui Jungang Line. In 30 places, it was written’lease inquiry’, and in four places there were notices of closure. The remaining 13 were closed with iron gates. The area around Yonsei University, which was crowded with newcomers’ meetings and meetings at this time of last year, before the Corona 19 incident, was also desolate.
Park Chun-hee (70), who runs a snack bar in front of Ewha Womans University, said, “I am considering closing the business for the first time in 24 years after opening in 1997.” As the class was changed to non-face-to-face due to Corona 19, the number of students visiting the store decreased and sales decreased by more than 60%. He said, “I am worried about whether I have to raise the price of kimchi fried rice (6,000 won), which has been frozen for 7 years since 2014,” he said. “It is over seventy years old to say that the situation will improve someday,” he said.
Mr. Jeon (39), who opened a 66m2 shoe store with billions of rights in 2014, said, “I live with the feeling that I can only withstand the contract period day by day.” There are many times.”
Gangnam and Gwanghwamun, where there are many office workers, are relatively better off compared to other commercial areas, but vacancy is also increasing here. According to the statistics of the Korea Real Estate Agency, the vacancy rate of medium and large shopping centers in Gwanghwamun was 15.3%, more than four times higher than the same period last year (3.7%). The vacancy rate of medium and large shopping centers in Gangnam-daero jumped from 4.05% to 8.70%. Lee Chang-ho (45), who has been running a pub near Yangjae Station on Subway Line 3 for 4 years, said, “We sent out 4 out of 5 employees last month. It was reduced to 5.5 million won, which is less than that.”
Reporters Gil-Sung Yang/Namyoung Kim/Daeun Choi [email protected]