At around 1 p.m. on Feb. 12, at a franchise cafe near the South Gate 2 of Gwangjang Market in Jongno-gu, Seoul, four to five foreigners rushed in, holding hotteok (sweet pancakes) and bungeoppang (fish-shaped bread), and ordered coffee, including Americanos. This is one of the spots where foreign visitors to Gwangjang Market buy “street desserts” like kkwabaegi (twisted doughnuts) or hotteok, along with various beverages. “These days, Gwangjang Market is bustling every day with foreigner visitors coming to buy various foods, and the number of customers at my store has increased significantly,” said owner A. “On weekdays, three to four out of 10 customers are foreigners.”
Gwangjang Market, a traditional market in Seoul with a 120-year history, is emerging as a holy site for K-tourism, attracting foreign tourists from the MZ generation (those born from the early 1980s to the early 2000s), reviving the nearby Jongno commercial district that hit rock bottom in sales during the COVID period.
According to BC Card on Feb. 13, if the payment amount at general restaurants near Gwangjang Market considered 100 in 2020, it increased to 112 in 2021, to 155 in 2022, and to 185 in 2023. The lodging industry also saw increases to 103 in 2021, to 186 in 2022, and to 241 in 2023. The influx of foreign tourists as new “consumers” to Gwangjang Market has changed the overall sales of the Jongno commercial district.
On the same day, at an outdoor store across the street from the East Gate of Gwangjang Market, five to six foreign tourists were seen choosing hiking clothes. “The number of foreign tourists visiting Gwangjang Market and buying clothes here has significantly increased, and thanks to that, we even applied for a ‘tax-free’ store in November last year,” said Mr. Kim, 67, who runs the place.
Gwangjang Market is one of the places that has changed the most before and after the spread of COVID-19. Before the pandemic, Gwangjang Market was popular among nearby office workers, merchants, and the middle-aged population in their 50s and 60s, known as a bustling spot for locals with its representative food alleys selling mung bean pancakes and gimbap. The change came after COVID-19, with sales plummeting and the market becoming deserted as if cut off by social distancing measures. It seemed like Gwangjang Market would never revive.
The merchants turned this into a time for reorganization. About 20 to 30 representative restaurants renovated their interiors and improved hygiene by fixing sinks and washbasins. According to BC Card, the amount and number of payments by foreigners at Gwangjang Market have been steeply increasing each year. Looking at 2020′s foreign payment amount and number as 100, by 2022, the payment amount was 115, and the number was 211 compared to 2020, and in 2023, the payment amount increased to 501 and the number to 1166. It increased fivefold and elevenfold in three years, respectively.
The transformation of Gwangjang Market has brought vitality from nearby Jonggak Station to Jongno 5-ga and Euljiro 4-ga. Sewoon Arcade and Nagwon Arcade near Jonggak Station have recently become another area frequented by foreign tourists. The café Horangii Coffee and the dessert shop Bbawoo Donass at Sewoon Arcade, Seoul Record LP Pub near Nagwon Arcade, and Pastaok in Ikseon-dong are places where young foreign customers have been posting travel reviews.
The Netflix original documentary “Street Food: Asia” aired in 2019, which re-highlighted Gwangjang Market, also played a role in attracting customers again. Social media posts of celebrities like British pop singer Sam Smith, actress Brie Larson known for the movie “Captain Marvel,” film director Tim Burton, and street artist Katherine Bernhardt, known for her “Pink Panther” paintings, enjoying live octopus, gimbap, tteokbokki, hotteok, and kkwabaegi at Gwangjang Market contributed significantly to its popularity after 2020.
