[Report] "Scrap Dealer Disposes of Entire Truckload of Inventory"... Hwanghak-dong Used Goods Street Hit Hard by Recession

The Holy Land for Self-Employed, Hwanghak-dong Loses Vitality Due to Recession
Closed Barbecue Restaurants' Chimneys and Braziers... Unable to Find New Owners
No New Shops Opening, Only Closures Continue

"If goods don't sell, I load them onto the truck bed and sell them for at least 40,000 won. It's better to sell at a loss than to just have them take up space."

On the 8th, when biting cold around minus 10 degrees Celsius hit, Park (72), a merchant met at the used kitchen and home appliance street in Hwanghak-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, was fiddling with an unsold electric heater. In front of Park's store, chimneys and braziers brought from a closed-down meat restaurant were piled up like a mountain, covered in dust.

On the 8th, used home appliances and kitchenware were piled up in front of a store located in the used kitchen and home appliance street in Hwanghak-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul.
[Photo by Lee Ji-eun]

Park cleans used electric heaters he bought from wholesalers for 30,000 won a few months ago to look like new and sells them for 80,000 won. The heaters, expected to sell quickly as the weather got colder, have been sitting in front of the store for months, exposed to the cold wind. Pointing to a truck waiting in front of the store, Park sighed, "Unsold items are bought cheaply by junk dealers who price them per kilogram."

The used kitchen and home appliance street in Hwanghak-dong, which had established itself as a haven for small business owners by selling used appliances at low prices, is losing its vitality. Due to the domestic economic downturn, closures of small businesses are increasing, but the number of new startups is decreasing, causing customers to disappear.

According to data received by Rep. Jeong Uncheon of the People Power Party from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, as of the end of August last year, the number of applications for the store closure demolition support project was 24,514, 3.8 times higher than in 2019 before the COVID-19 outbreak. The number of applications for the small business closure demolition support project also increased nearly fourfold, from 6,503 in 2019 to 24,524 in 2022.

The proportion of self-employed choosing to start a business is also decreasing. According to Statistics Korea's data from August last year, the proportion of non-wage workers (self-employed) among all workers was 23.4%, the lowest since 2007.

On the 8th, unsold chairs are piled up in front of a secondhand furniture store located in the used kitchen and home appliance street in Hwanghak-dong.
[Photo by Lee Ji-eun]

With no one opening stores and only more closing, merchants in Hwanghak-dong are struggling with overflowing inventory. Lee (71), who runs a used furniture store, is distressed by the influx of interior furniture from personal cafes closing down across Seoul.

Lee said, "As personal cafes close, various colored and designed furniture come onto the market," adding, "Nowadays, only small cafes are opening in suburban areas, so these furniture pieces with inconsistent designs don't sell."

Merchants unanimously said they feel the economic downturn firsthand. Kim (58), who has operated a used dish store here for six years, said, "The average rent for stores in Hwanghak-dong is about 3 million won per month, and foreign workers' salaries should be at least 2.2 million won. If business doesn't go well for 2-3 months, cash flow stops, and you have to close the store," adding, "Two merchants I know around here have already closed their stores."

On the 8th, the used kitchenware and home appliance district in Hwanghak-dong, Seoul, is quiet.
[Photo by Lee Ji-eun]

Many self-employed people also lament that their stores are at a crossroads as the economy has not rebounded since COVID-19.

Yoon Sunhyun (56), who runs a cafe and snack bar in Eumseong-gun, Chungbuk, said, "During COVID-19, customers who received emergency disaster relief funds spent money, so we could at least breathe a little," adding, "Recently, even government offices and companies have drastically cut snack budgets for employees due to the economic downturn, reducing orders by half."

Lee Eonyeong (66), who runs a personal cafe in Chuncheon, Gangwon, said, "Nearby merchants who used to operate lunch and dinner services now often only operate lunch to save on labor costs," adding, "More store owners are shortening business hours to reduce operating expenses."