Garosugil, Once Home to Kang Hodong's Building, Now Full of Vacancies... Nearby Neighborhoods Bustle with Tourists [Hot Place Road] ①

Impact of COVID-19 and the Rise of Online Shopping Have Driven People Away from Garosugil
Apgujeong Rodeo and Myeongdong Have Become Hot Spots for Young People Again

'For Lease Inquiries' 'Entire Building Lease' 'Kkalse'

On June 24, Garosugil was lined with vacant commercial spaces. The building immediately encountered upon exiting Sinsa Station on Subway Line 3 once housed Olive Young and Twosome Place. Now, only the marks where the first-floor store signs used to be remain clearly visible. The chairman of the global SPA brand Zara and famous celebrity Kang Hodong also bought and later sold buildings here before leaving. This is the current state of Garosugil, which was once overflowing with shoppers and trendsetting young people.

The building located at the entrance of Garosugil near Sinsa Station on Subway Line 3 was once a key commercial area housing Olive Young and Twosome Place, but it has remained vacant for over four years. Photo by Youngchan Choi

Impact of COVID-19 and the Rise of Online Shopping Have Driven People Away from Garosugil

Kim, a woman in her 20s who visited a hair salon, said, "I felt Garosugil was dying after COVID-19," adding, "Since 2023, the number of vacant stores has become really noticeable, and almost all the famous brands have left."

These days, Garosugil is a favorite site for real estate YouTubers. They come to explore the so-called 'vacancy hell.' According to real estate consulting firm Cushman & Wakefield Korea, the vacancy rate in the Garosugil commercial district was 41.6% in the first quarter of this year. Nearly half of the stores are empty. Despite the high vacancy rate, rents have paradoxically been rising. According to rental statistics from the Korea Real Estate Board, rents for collective, medium-to-large, and small commercial spaces near Sinsa Station increased from the third quarter of 2024 to the first quarter of this year.

Even as demand decreases, rents are slow to fall, creating a vicious cycle that blocks new tenants from entering. When Apple opened an Apple Store here in 2018 and paid 60 billion won for 20 years' rent, rents in nearby buildings soared as well, but that bubble is now rapidly deflating.

Garosugil was once a mecca for foreigners, fashion influencers, and trend-sensitive people in their 20s and 30s. However, the COVID-19 pandemic halted the influx of foreign visitors. On top of that, the trend toward online shopping delivered a direct blow. A local real estate agent said, "The rent is already too high, and there are too many overlapping businesses," adding, "Recently, even foreign tourists have been flowing into places where they can get medical tourism or into the nearby Serosugil area." Another agent said, "The rent per pyeong in Garosugil exceeds 300,000 won, which is expensive even for Seoul, and when you consider the high key money, it is virtually impossible for new tenants to enter."

The commercial building on Garosugil where the clothing brand Tommy Hilfiger was located has remained vacant for several months. Photo by Youngchan Choi

Experts point out that not only has gentrification driven up rents, but the commercial district has also failed to keep up with trends. Kwon Daejung, a professor at Sogang University, said, "Gentrification has caused rents to soar, and as the proportion of people shopping online rather than offline has increased, vacancies have become more common. Because rents are linked to building prices, once they go up, it is not easy for them to fall." He added, "Ultimately, the area needs to be reborn as a street where people want to walk and stay. This is difficult for merchants to achieve alone, so support from commercial associations and government policy is needed in parallel."

Apgujeong Rodeo and Myeongdong Have Become Hot Spots for Young People Again

On the same day, a bakery cafe near Apgujeong Rodeo Station in Gangnam, Seoul, was bustling with foreign visitors waiting to enter from early in the morning. Tourists browsed nearby flagship stores and household goods shops while waiting to get into the cafe. Jason, a 29-year-old tourist from Hong Kong, said, "There are many different brands, so it's great for shopping," adding, "Before going to the bakery cafe I saw a lot on Instagram, I bought some athletic wear."

While Garosugil, just a 20-minute walk away, is suffering from a 'vacancy hell,' Apgujeong Rodeo Street has regained its vibrancy and become a hot spot for young people. Like Garosugil, Apgujeong Rodeo also suffered from vacancies and a sharp drop in visitors after COVID-19. It was only a few years ago that real estate agents were saying, "Apgujeong Rodeo is finished." But now, fashion stores in the Apgujeong and Dosan-daero areas are crowded with people, both locals and foreigners alike. It is a dramatic change.

People waiting to enter in front of a bakery cafe near Apgujeong Rodeo Station around 11 a.m. Photo by Lee Eunseo

Ella, a 14-year-old tourist from Singapore who was waiting to enter a famous sunglasses brand store, said, "This was the first tourist spot I visited after arriving in Korea," adding, "My older sister is very interested in K-POP, so we came to see the sunglasses that Jennie wore."

Apgujeong Rodeo has not only fashion flagship stores but also many dining restaurants and bars. The fact that you can hang out at lounges or pubs until dawn is another reason it attracts young people. Lim Heejin, 40, said, "There are many hot brands around Dosan Park, and there are few empty stores, so it's fun to walk around and check out the shops," adding, "The atmosphere and quality of the restaurants and cafes are so good that I feel like my own taste is improving as well."

According to the Korea Real Estate Board, the vacancy rate for small commercial spaces in the Apgujeong and Dosan-daero areas was 0% in the first quarter of 2025. In the first quarter of 2025, the rent for medium-to-large commercial spaces on Dosan-daero was 55,760 won per square meter, and for small spaces, it was 54,680 won per square meter, both up from the same quarter last year. In Apgujeong, the rent for medium-to-large commercial spaces was 53,940 won per square meter, and for small spaces, it was 58,380 won per square meter, also higher than last year.

People bustling not only at the fashion flagship store but also at dining restaurants, brunch cafes, and bakeries. Photo by Lee Eunseo

Phrases like 'for lease inquiries' or 'vacant commercial space' are hard to find. Instead, the streets are filled with the noise of construction for new commercial buildings. Yu, a real estate agent, said, "New brands are moving in, mainly large ones, and contracts are usually long-term, ranging from two to five years," adding, "Even near my real estate office, construction is underway for a fragrance store to open."

The Myeongdong commercial district in Seoul has also recovered to pre-COVID-19 levels. Driven by the K-culture boom, foreigners flock to Myeongdong to buy various accessories, K-pop goods, and clothing from Korean fashion brands. According to Cushman & Wakefield's 'Q1 Retail Market Report,' the vacancy rate in Myeongdong was 5.2% in the first quarter of this year, down 2.4 percentage points from the same period last year.