Seongsu-dong

Seongsu-dong was, not long ago, a semi-industrial patch of eastern Seoul packed with shoe workshops, print shops and car repair garages. As its red-brick factories and warehouses turned into cafés, galleries and pop-up stores, it became one of the fastest-changing neighbourhoods in the city, and with Seoul Forest right next door it easily fills a full day.

What kind of place is it?

Seongsu-dong is a neighbourhood of Seongdong District, set where the Han River meets the Jungnangcheon Stream. Officially it is split into Seongsu-dong 1-ga and Seongsu-dong 2-ga, and it mixes small factories with residential streets. Two explanations of the name are told: one says it combines the first syllables of an old pavilion, Seongdeokjeong, and the Ttukdo waterworks; the other says it means "pure, precious water", because this riverside village drank from the Han. Before it joined Seongdong District in 1949, the area belonged to Ttukdo-myeon in Goyang County, Gyeonggi Province.

From factory lanes to café streets

The turning point most often mentioned is Daerim Warehouse, an old red-brick storehouse that kept its brickwork, faded signs and huge interior and reopened as a venue for exhibitions and fashion shows. Warehouse-style cafés soon followed along Yeonmujang-gil. Today bakeries, concept stores and culture spaces sit between car repair shops and printing works that are still in business, which gives Seongsu a feel that no other shopping area in Seoul quite has. In the 2020s it also became the city's hotspot for short-lived pop-up stores, and it picked up the nickname "the Brooklyn of Seoul".

What to see

• Seongsu-dong Handmade Shoe Street: shoemakers began clustering here in the 1970s. According to tourism information, around 350 handmade shoe makers and about 100 processing and materials suppliers still operate in the area. Shoe shops line the streets under the elevated tracks near Seongsu Station on Line 2.
• Yeonmujang-gil café street: the heart of the neighbourhood, lined with cafés, restaurants and brand stores in converted factories and warehouses. Shops change often, so check a map app for what is open now.
• Working factories: step one block off the main roads and you still find small workshops with signs for "computer embroidery" or "precision machining". Please be considerate when taking photos of people at work.
• Seoul Forest: the large park on the western edge of Seongsu is within walking distance of the café streets, so a stroll there pairs well with a visit.

Tripto tips

• Getting there: Seongsu and Ttukseom stations on Line 2 and Seoul Forest Station on the Suin-Bundang Line surround the neighbourhood. The café and shoe streets are closest to Seongsu Station; if you want to combine the visit with Seoul Forest, start at Seoul Forest or Ttukseom Station.
• Parking: there is hardly any parking in the neighbourhood itself, and visitors are advised to use the public car park at Seongsu Station. Public transport is far easier.
• Time needed: a walk through the lanes, one café stop and the shoe street take about 2 to 4 hours.
• When to go: on weekend afternoons the queues outside popular shops are long. Come on a weekday during working hours to see the factories that give Seongsu its character.
• Pop-up stores: most run for a limited time and schedules change constantly. If you are heading for a specific one, check that it is open just before you go.