SNS buzz draws younger crowds as foreign tourist spending jumps
Vendors pivot to retail, pop-ups at department stores in bid to survive
Payments and other hurdles remain: 'Convenience must improve'
"Don't worry about the heat on the back of your neck. Pick whatever you want, ladies. Take your time. It's nothing special — just last year's stock."
At around 3 p.m. Tuesday, some 60 people were lined up five rows deep outside Dada Guri, a scarf store at Namdaemun Market in Jung-gu, Seoul. Cries of "Stop pushing!" rang out across the crowd. Despite the brisk autumn chill hovering around 10 degrees Celsius, the air in front of the store buzzed with energy. The draw: the store's owner, known on SNS as the "scarf ajeossi," or scarf uncle.
The scene at Namdaemun Market — long a shopping destination for middle-aged women — is changing. The traditional market has reinvented itself as a trend destination, riding waves of interest in wellness culture and the "okcore" aesthetic. Young shoppers who once avoided traditional markets are now making the trip for bath products, jade rings, tableware and flowers.
Foreign tourists have also claimed Namdaemun as a shopping hub. They come for more than the market's famous hotteok pancakes — they line up for value-priced duvets, pajamas, socks and eyeglasses, and some even queue outside pharmacies. Foreign card spending at the market has surged more than 60 percent so far this year.
From visitors in their 20s from Namyangju to tourists from Spain and Singapore — what is drawing such a different crowd to Namdaemun Market?
siuu@heraldcorp.com
