Resident briefing session on the 16th... Project details, future plans, participation request, Q&A
Governance establishment, basic survey of local resources and commercial districts, establishment of a 5-year activation plan (draft)
Securing growth momentum for the antique furniture street hub and Itaewon area as a tourism-specialized shopping district
Yongsan-gu, Seoul (District Mayor Park Hee-young) is set to officially launch the project following last week's resident briefing session for the ‘Itaewon Antique Furniture Street Neighborhood Commercial Area Development Center.’ Centered around the furniture street densely populated with antique specialty stores, the Itaewon area aims to secure growth momentum to reestablish itself as a tourism-specialized shopping district.
Last month, Yongsan-gu was the only district among Seoul’s autonomous districts to be selected for the ‘2024 Neighborhood Commercial Area Development Center’ project, hosted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. Following the selection, a total project budget of 100 million KRW will be invested by combining 50 million KRW in national funds and 50 million KRW from the district, to be used by the end of the year.
The Neighborhood Commercial Area Development Center project is carried out by a consortium composed of Yongsan-gu, the Small Enterprise and Market Service, and commercial area planners. This project serves as a preliminary stage for the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ autonomous commercial area revitalization initiative.
The commercial area planner, Korea Market Management Institute, will lead efforts such as ▲establishing governance ▲conducting regional resource and commercial area baseline surveys ▲and drafting a five-year plan (proposal) for autonomous commercial area revitalization.
The resident briefing session for the Neighborhood Commercial Area Development Center, held on the 16th in the lecture room on the third basement floor of the district office, marked the starting point for building governance in the neighborhood commercial area.
Neighborhood commercial area governance forms the foundation for establishing an autonomous commercial association and designating an autonomous commercial area. According to the Act on Mutual Growth and Revitalization of Local Commercial Areas, the representative of the autonomous commercial association can apply for the designation of an autonomous commercial area. The autonomous commercial association may include merchants, landlords, landowners, commercial area planners, and association officials within the commercial area.
The regional resource and commercial area baseline survey involves analyzing the commercial area’s zoning, business type distribution, sales figures, and customer characteristics based on local survey results within the district. This analysis is used to review the scope of the autonomous commercial area.
The five-year plan (proposal) for commercial area revitalization includes commercial revitalization content, execution plans, secretariat operations, capacity-building plans, and performance indicators. As the plan is detailed, the district will form a task force involving related departments and establish a consortium with commercial area planners and associations to assist in designating the autonomous commercial area.
Park Hee-young, Mayor of Yongsan-gu, said, “I am grateful to the Itaewon Antique Furniture Association and Korea Market Management Institute for creating an opportunity to receive up to 5 billion KRW in support over five years from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. We will actively cooperate to ensure the first step is well taken and to produce tangible results that local community members can feel.”
The Itaewon Antique Furniture Street commercial area spans approximately 52,000 square meters from Itaewon Station to Cheonghwa Apartments and the Saudi Arabian Embassy area, housing 128 stores.
Its origins trace back to the 1960s when nearby U.S. military personnel returning home began selling furniture they brought back. Since the 1990s, the area has been dominated by specialty stores dealing primarily in European antique furniture, forming the distinctive alleyway commercial area seen today.
Twice a year, in spring and autumn, the Itaewon Antique Furniture Street area hosts the ‘Antique & Vintage Festival.’ The festival promotes the commercial area through antique flea markets, auctions, and street performances.
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