[The Future of Yongsan] The Declining Electronics Hub 'Yongsan Electronics Market' Transformed into a New Industry Innovation District

④ Yongsan Preparing to Leap as Asia's Silicon Valley
Yongsan Electronics Market Established in 1987
Declined with Growth of Online Platforms
Electronics Market Stores Used as Warehouses and Offices
Mayor Oh Se-hoon Proposes Strategy Linking International Business District
Mandatory 30% New Industry Attraction Rate in Redevelopment
Synergy Expected with Large Corporations in International Business District

Editor's NoteYongsan, which once held the "forbidden land," is entering a new turning point. The Yongsan US military base, which had been off-limits to the general public for over a century, has transformed into Yongsan Park, a space for all citizens. With the relocation of the presidential office, it has established itself as the new center of power in South Korea, and development plans have also begun in earnest. There are ongoing demands to expand its role as a center of history and culture. Despite being a prime piece of land along the Han River connecting Namsan and the Han River in the heart of Seoul, it still harbors underdeveloped residential areas. Experts believe that to enhance Seoul's global competitiveness as a city where power, business, history, and culture converge, attention must be paid to Yongsan. In that sense, Yongsan represents both the present and future of Korean cities.

Banners informing about reconstruction and demolition are hung on Buildings 12 and 13 of Najin Shopping Center. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

#. ‘This building is scheduled for demolition and reconstruction.’ Behind Yongsan Station in Seoul, passing Dragon City and arriving at Yongsan Electronics Market, the Najin Shopping Center buildings 12 and 13, located at the very center, can be seen. Completed in 1981, it was a collective shopping center mainly dealing with electronic devices such as mobile phones. Now, most merchants have vacated, leaving the interior empty, with banners announcing reconstruction and fences surrounding the building. Most people passing through are pedestrians heading to Yongsan Station. The tenants who were here have moved to other shopping centers within Yongsan or to other areas such as Gasan, Paju, and Gimpo.

#. On the far right of Yongsan Electronics Market is Seonin Shopping Center building 21, first floor, where customers looking to buy electronic products were hard to find. Most stores appeared more like warehouses than shops, and some merchants were seen staring at monitor screens with their shutters down. The quiet shopping center echoed only with the sound of tape being torn to pack delivery boxes. The atmosphere on the second floor was no different. A used laptop store displayed laptops with colorful price tags ranging from 100,000 to 300,000 won to attract customers' attention.

Building 21 of Seonin Shopping Center, which is sparsely populated even on weekdays.

From a fruit and vegetable market to an electronics market, with the ultimate goal of becoming Asia's Silicon Valley. Yongsan Electronics Market is preparing to transform into a new place that will boost the competitiveness of Yongsan and Seoul. Established in 1987, Yongsan Electronics Market was a mecca for electronic products such as PCs, games, mobile phones, home appliances, and audio equipment. From the late 2000s, as online platforms grew, Yongsan Electronics Market began to decline. Recently, merchants have also started selling products through online platforms, using the physical stores as warehouses or offices. Last year, when Seoul City announced a development strategy linked to the Yongsan International Business District, Yongsan Electronics Market was given an opportunity to establish a new status beyond its fame and memories.

The Present and Past of Yongsan Electronics Market

In the early 1980s, Yongsan was an underdeveloped area. When the Yongsan Fruit and Vegetable Market, established in the 1960s, moved to Garak-dong, electronic product stores from Cheonggyecheon Sewoon Shopping Center relocated to Yongsan. The opening of Line 4 in 1985 and the establishment of the northern station of Yongsan Station accelerated the development of the electronics market. Electronic product sellers gathered in Yongsan, and with the growth of the electronics industry including personal computers and mobile phones, it enjoyed nearly 30 years of prosperity. In the 1990s and 2000s, people from all over the country flocked to Yongsan to purchase computers and electronic products. During the boom, excessive profiteering, aggressive solicitation, and forced sales were common. The term ‘Yongpal-i’ emerged to describe such sellers. Consumers distanced themselves from Yongsan Electronics Market due to various inconveniences. The market failed to keep pace with changes in industrial structure, technological advancement, and consumer behavior.

There are shops with shutters closed or vacant spaces scattered throughout the first floor of Seonin Shopping Center. In the hallway, items intended for sale are stacked in their packaged state.

Forty years later, redevelopment is underway in the Yongsan Electronics Market area. The market is divided into 11 zones including the main and annex buildings of Electronics Land, Wonhyo Shopping Center, Najin Shopping Center buildings 10·11, 12·13, 14, 15, 17·18, 19·20, Nonghyup, and Seonin Shopping Center. The oldest buildings are Najin Shopping Center buildings 17·18 and 19, completed in 1969. Notably, Najin Shopping Center has a single owner for both land and buildings, so redevelopment is progressing relatively quickly. Wonhyo Shopping Center's land is owned by Seobu T&D and 131 individuals, while Seonin Shopping Center's land is owned by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Seonin Industry, with about 1,300 people sharing ownership of the buildings.

Regardless of development plans, tenants are leaving Wonhyo and Seonin Shopping Centers. The aging shopping centers and the entry of low-priced Chinese platforms into the domestic market have eliminated reasons to maintain stores. A representative of real estate agency A near Seonin Shopping Center said, "Nowadays, people buy things online, so stores are used as offices or warehouses. The monthly rent is about 100,000 won per pyeong, but when tenants leave, landlords have to pay management fees, so they try to accept tenants who ask for lower rent."

Even though Seoul City announced development plans for the Yongsan International Business District, demand for investment in shopping centers remains low. The head of real estate agency B in Singye-dong said, "As the situation in Gyeonggi Province worsens and shopping malls like Alina and Temu emerge, merchants who used to import and sell from China are now vacating stores used as warehouses or closing shops. Since rental income is not coming in, there are few purchase inquiries. The mood is to reduce staff and move only to cheaper places."

The Future of the Electronics Market: Infusing ‘New Industries’

Ownership Status of Buildings in Yongsan Electronics Market

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has pledged to transform Yongsan Electronics Market into ‘Asia's Silicon Valley.’ This contrasts with the previous mayor who pursued preservation-focused urban regeneration. In June last year, Mayor Oh announced a development strategy linking Yongsan Electronics Market with the International Business District. The plan is to foster new industries based on artificial intelligence (AI) and ICT, transforming the area into a city where jobs, housing, and leisure coexist. Mayor Oh described the maintenance depot site and the electronics market as the "last stronghold" to open a new era for Yongsan.

Seoul City envisions developing Yongsan as an international business hub connecting Seoul’s downtown (Gwanghwamun and City Hall) with the Han River and Yeouido. By attracting global and domestic major companies to the Yongsan International Business District, the city aims to bring in startups, ventures, and other innovative companies to create synergy.

Yongsan Electronics Market Linked Strategy Bird's-eye View

The electronics market, once limited to distribution and sales functions, will transform into a business district. The city is encouraging developers to integrate office, residential, and commercial functions. The area has been designated as a special planning zone to allow mixed-use development by site. Seobu T&D, owner of Najin Shopping Center buildings 12·13 (Special Planning Zone 5), recently submitted a detailed development plan to Seoul City for review. A city official said, "Najin Shopping Center buildings 12·13, 11, and 19·20 are also in the process of redevelopment, mostly planned as office facilities."

Seoul City has set a 30% quota for ‘new industry innovation use’ to attract innovative companies. It mandates attracting ICT companies, software, digital content, and startup support facilities, while allowing flexible changes in detailed business types according to industrial changes. Instead of designating industrial uses, the floor area ratio has been relaxed to allow taller buildings. In return, developers are encouraged to donate public rental industrial facilities and public rental shopping centers. This measure aims to secure public interest while enhancing project profitability and increasing the resettlement of existing merchants. Upon redevelopment, the skyline of the electronics market will change with buildings up to 25-30 stories high, featuring office facilities, officetels, and commercial spaces. The lower floors will be open to allow citizens to freely walk between buildings. A three-dimensional pedestrian bridge will be installed for easy access to the International Business District, and a park axis will be created by utilizing the retention basin along Cheongpa-ro.

A Seoul City official said, "Since projects are implemented individually, new buildings will appear in the electronics market before the International Business District. Connecting the electronics market to Yongsan Station and the International Business District via a three-dimensional pedestrian network will create a new hub supporting the International Business District."