'Valentine's Day' Missing Amid COVID-19 Impact

Due to the impact of the novel coronavirus infection, the Myeongdong shopping street in Seoul is showing a quiet scene despite it being the weekend on the 9th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] This year, the Valentine’s Day boom disappeared due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The concerns of self-employed individuals, small and medium-sized enterprises, and small business owners are deepening.

According to the Small Business Federation and related industries on the 14th, cancellations of dinner reservations on Valentine’s Day are frequently occurring at famous restaurants and wine bars in downtown areas such as Myeongdong, Daehangno, and Gangnam in Seoul.

For example, a famous restaurant in Myeongdong, known as a “romantic date spot” located on the top floor of a high-rise building where you can enjoy the night view, has seen a string of dinner reservation cancellations for Valentine’s Day starting two weeks ago. This place used to be fully booked almost 2 to 3 months in advance on Valentine’s Day in previous years. Being located in the heart of Myeongdong, well known as a dating course for couples, it also prepared wine events to commemorate Valentine’s Day, making it one of the periods with the highest wine sales throughout the year.

The hall manager of this restaurant said, “Not only Chinese tourists who usually flock to Myeongdong but also domestic customers have stopped visiting, so most dinner reservations for Valentine’s Day this year were canceled. It has become possible to dine even without a reservation on the day. This is the first time such a thing has happened,” he revealed.

A chocolate-making class and caf? in the Gangnam area of Seoul also expected to be bustling for Valentine’s Day, but the COVID-19 outbreak caused them to miss out on the Valentine’s Day boom. Famous for its ‘cooking classes’ where customers can experience making and tasting chocolates and cakes, this caf? is also known as a romantic date spot for couples on occasions like Valentine’s Day and Christmas. Originally, 12 groups had reservations at one-hour intervals from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on that day, but most recently, the majority canceled, leaving only 4 groups remaining. Occasionally, there are inquiries requesting delivery of cooking ingredients to their homes.

Lee Geunjae, head of the Jongno District branch of the Korea Foodservice Industry Association, lamented, “Restaurants in tourist areas frequently visited by Chinese tourists, such as Daehangno, around Seoul National University Hospital, Insadong, and the outskirts of Pyeongchang-dong, have been devastated. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, reservations for large groups of 40 people have been canceled one after another, and places that used to suffer from parking lot chaos now don’t even have a single car in sight.”

He added, “There are no customers, but labor and ingredient costs keep coming out, so restaurants are dying. Even on weekends, the city is empty, like a ‘dead city.’ This situation is expected to continue until the end of April this year, but government support will take at least 6 months to a year to be received at the earliest. Ultimately, all those restaurants will close within that time.”

Meanwhile, delivery platforms such as Baedal Minjok and Yogiyo are strengthening ‘untact’ marketing that delivers gifts right to consumers’ doorsteps who are reluctant to go out, expecting a Valentine’s Day boom. In particular, they are increasing services that deliver chocolates to homes in collaboration with convenience stores, chocolate and confectionery companies, and are holding related events.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.