Why Have Neighborhood Shops in Songpa-gu Changed So Much?

Songpa-gu Collaborates with Young Artists to Improve Design of 30 Stores

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Songpa-gu (Mayor Park Seong-su) completed the ‘Our Neighborhood Store Artterior’ project in January this year, which improves small business owners’ store designs through young artists.

The ‘Artterior (Art+Interior)’ project utilizes artists’ expertise to carry out murals, product development, interior and exterior design, branding, and further strengthens the competitiveness of stores.

In October last year, the district selected Dasol Education Culture and Arts Cooperative as the operating body to oversee the project, and improved the designs of a total of 30 stores with 15 young artists. Various tasks were carried out according to the characteristics of each store, including restaurants, cafes, flower shops, bookstores, clothing stores, and marts, ranging from interior design to product packaging, promotional materials production, and logo development for marketing.

Among the participating stores, a Korean restaurant is an example of indoor and outdoor design improvement. In line with the store’s focus on Korean cuisine, the menu was improved with traditional Korean design, and hanji (traditional Korean paper) lighting was installed to create a consistent atmosphere.

In particular, considering that the owner collects old wood and antique items, a promotional space utilizing these was created to leave a lasting impression on customers.

There is also a store that maximized its strengths through product packaging and promotional materials production. This place is a 40-year-old mill, which despite its long tradition, had outdated facilities and an unorganized interior environment, making it difficult to convey the store’s advantages to customers. Accordingly, the young artists incorporated the recently popular ‘retro’ style by creating wooden product display stands, menus, and promotional materials, producing a warm shop atmosphere run by artisans.

A cafe that had been operated for 10 years without distinctiveness as a small one-person business found its identity through branding. A new logo matching the cafe’s name was designed, and coupons and mugs using the logo were produced so that, although the store is small, it could be promoted to consumers as a brand.

In addition, through young artists, an average of 4.3 design works per store, totaling 133 works including space improvement, displays, murals and exhibitions, and printed materials were completed.

As the number of merchants wishing to participate increases, the district plans to expand the project this year.

Park Seong-su, Mayor of Songpa-gu, stated, “The store environment is improved without cost burden, and identity establishment and promotional measures are prepared, resulting in high satisfaction among participating merchants,” and added, “Through the Artterior project, we will breathe new life into small business owners and neighborhood commercial districts struggling due to the economic downturn.”