Seongsu

Seongsu-dong is located in Seongdong-gu, eastern Seoul, on the north bank of the Han River. The area was once known as the center of the handmade shoe industry. Today, it’s a trendy neighborhood filled with cafes, bakeries, boutiques, pop-up stores, and vintage shops.

The handmade shoe industry

Shoes were first introduced to Korea in the 1880s. By the 1920s, the roots of the handmade shoe industry started to form thanks to demand from so-called ‘modern girls’ and ‘modern boys’, young adults who embraced the new consumer culture, fashion, leisure, and cosmopolitan attitudes sweeping across Asia at the time, largely as a result of the Japanese colonial influence. They were Korea’s version of flappers and dandies.

In those days, shoe leather smuggled into Korea was stored near Seoul Station. The surrounding area was a natural location for shoe repair shops. In the aftermath of the Korean War, these shops began repairing US military combat boots. This coincided with a boom in the shoe industry, and the area began attracting handmade shoemakers, many of them establishing their shops near Yeomcheon Bridge, just to the north of Seoul Station. It wasn’t long before this became known as Korea’s first handmade shoe street.

In the late 1960s, Kumkang, one of the largest shoe companies in Korea, moved its headquarters to Geumho-dong, not far west of the southern end of the Jungnang Stream where it meets the Han River. In the early 1970s, another shoe company called Esquire opened a factory in Seongsu-dong, not far east of the southern end of the Jungnang Stream. Subsequently, subcontractors of both companies began setting up shop in Seongsu-dong. The neighborhood soon became home to the largest cluster of handmade shoemakers in Korea.

In the 1980s and early 1990s, the number of shops exploded as more and more handmade shoemakers flocked to the area. Some who had opened shops around Yeomcheon Bridge relocated to Seongsu, taking advantage of lower rent. By the mid-1990s, there were thousands of them. At its peak, 80% of Korea’s handmade shoes were produced in Seongsu-dong.

In the late 1990s, demand for handmade shoes began to decline thanks to cheap imports from China and a growing demand for name-brand shoes. As the market contracted, the number of shoemakers in Seongsu-dong began to dwindle, warehouses and factory spaces standing empty. Even so, there were still some 6,000 of them in the area in the early 2010s, but by 2018, that number was estimated to be closer to 2,500.

Today, the industry is a shadow of the past. The relatively small number of handmade shoemakers remaining in Seongsu-dong totals 70% of all the handmade shoemakers in Korea.

The Seongsu revitalization

In 2010, cheap rent in the empty factory spaces started attracting young artists who moved in to open galleries and cafes. In 2013, Seoul mayor Park Won Soon pushed to develop the area into a ‘footwear fashion hub’. That was when the first ‘Seongsu Handmade Shoes Street’ signs started to appear.

From the middle of 2019 to the middle of 2021, around 200 new restaurants opened in Seongsu-dong, and total sales in the neighborhood saw a dramatic increase. The neighborhood picked up the nickname ‘The Brooklyn of Seoul’. It became increasingly popular with young Koreans and international K-pop fans, leading to a sustained increase in the number of visitors every year. In the first half of 2023, some 30 million people passed through.

In 2026, Seongsu-dong remains a top destination on the itineraries of foreign tourists. It features prominently in Korea-centric content on Instagram and YouTube, with some of the area’s shops singled out as must-visit places.

Mike from Korea References

Walking Seoul at 3 AM on Lunar New Year’s Day (Seongsu, Seoul Forest)