[Report] "We Are the Last Generation"... More Vacant Stores on Yeomcheon Bridge Handmade Shoe Street

A Street Passed By Only by Pedestrians, About 30 Shops Remain
Changing Trends in the Era of Online Orders

"There was a time when business was so good that I had two employees, but now there are no customers and I've been running a deficit for years."

On the afternoon of the 12th, the handmade shoe street at Yeomcheongyo Bridge in Jung-gu, Seoul, is quiet. Photo by Byun Seonjin

On the afternoon of September 12, Seo Taesik (66), who runs Seoul Shoes on the handmade shoe street at Yeomcheon Bridge in Jung-gu, Seoul, said, "I've been making shoes since I was 20, and the rent for my small shop, which is just about 10 square meters, is 700,000 won a month. Even if I sell a pair of shoes wholesale, I only make about 5,000 to 10,000 won in profit. I used to have many clients, but now, as shoe stores are closing one by one, things are getting harder and harder," he lamented.

Most of the passersby on this street merely glanced at the shoe stores without entering. The shops that were open were silent, and one owner, taking a deep drag of his cigarette, exhaled a sigh-laden cloud of smoke. Vacant stores with "For Lease" signs were noticeable throughout the area. In its heyday in the 1980s, hundreds of stores thrived here, but now only about 30 remain, barely keeping the tradition alive.

On the afternoon of the 12th, Cho Taeho, president of Hana Shoes in Jung-gu, Seoul, is explaining about handmade shoes. Photo by Byun Seonjin

This street was formed in 1925 during the Japanese colonial period, when shoemakers gathered around the leather warehouses. After the Korean War, they repaired and sold U.S. military boots, and during the 1970s and 1980s, they enjoyed a golden age by supplying shoes nationwide. However, the mass import of cheap Chinese products and the rise of online shopping have led to a decline. Cho Taeho (65), president of Hana Shoes, said, "In the past, everyone wore dress shoes to weddings, but now people even wear sneakers. Even when young people buy shoes, they order them online," he said with a wry smile.

Accessibility is also an issue. It is too far to walk from the nearest Chungjeongno or Seodaemun subway stations, and even if you get off at Seoul Station, you have to cross a major road. In the past, many customers would park briefly to buy shoes, but after the Seoul Station overpass was turned into a park in 2015, parking became impossible, and even more customers stopped coming.

Jeon Eunju (60), president of Joeun Dance Shoes, which specializes in dance shoes, said, "I'm running the store on borrowed money, and it's hard to sell even two or three pairs a day." She added that the customers who stopped coming after COVID-19 have not returned. Ko Gihwang (70), who runs Italy Shoes, said, "If craftsmen like us disappear, what will people who can't wear ready-made shoes do?" He expressed his biggest concern was that there would be no skilled workers left to meet the demand for specialized shoes.