Gwanak-gu Designates New Alley-type Shopping District to Revitalize Alley Commercial Area

On the 21st of last month, the 7th "Euncheon-dong Bongcheon Dalbitgil Alley-type Shopping District" and the 8th "Namhyun-dong Artist Village Alley-type Shopping District" were newly designated... The district can now provide various supports such as handling Onnuri gift certificates, event projects, and environmental improvements

Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee) designated the 7th and 8th alley-type shopping districts last month on the 21st, accelerating efforts to revitalize alley commercial areas.

An "alley-type shopping district" refers to an area where stores operated by small business owners are densely concentrated above a certain level, according to relevant laws.

Since the enactment of the "Ordinance on Supporting the Revitalization of Alley-type Shopping Districts in Gwanak-gu, Seoul" on December 31, 2020, the district has designated ▲ Miseong-dong Dokkaebi Market ▲ Nangok Alley-type Shopping District ▲ Gwanak Jungbu Market ▲ Gangnam Alley Market ▲ Bongridan-gil Alley-type Shopping District ▲ Seorim Happy-filled Alley-type Shopping District as alley-type shopping districts and has been promoting various commercial revitalization projects.

The newly designated alley-type shopping districts are ‘Bongcheon Dalbit-gil Alley-type Shopping District’ located in Euncheon-dong (Nambusunhwan-ro 1739-8 and 26 other parcels) and ‘Namhyun-dong Artist Village Alley-type Shopping District’ located in Namhyun-dong (Namhyun 3-gil 78 and 63 other parcels).

These two areas have established themselves as representative alley commercial areas of Euncheon-dong and Namhyun-dong for over 30 years, but since they were not recognized as traditional markets, they were restricted from joining the Onnuri gift certificate program and receiving various revitalization project supports.

However, with the introduction of changes to the alley-type shopping district system in August 2020, the recognition criteria were relaxed. In April, the ordinance was amended to ease the concentration standard for small business stores from 30 or more within 2,000 ㎡ to 25 or more.

Accordingly, Euncheon-dong and Namhyun-dong met the conditions for alley-type shopping districts and were newly designated, enabling them to receive various benefits provided by the district, including support equivalent to existing traditional markets and participation in the Onnuri gift certificate program.

The district expects that the expansion of alley-type shopping districts will be a step forward in strengthening the competitiveness of small business owners and revitalizing alley commercial areas, aligning with the district’s administrative goals.

Park Jun-hee, Mayor of Gwanak-gu, stated, “We hope that by designating various commercial areas alley by alley as alley-type shopping districts, Gwanak-gu will become a lively district visited by residents.” He added, “With the relaxation of designation requirements through the amendment of related ordinances, we will discover more alley-type shopping districts and breathe new life into alley commercial areas.”