Sharosugil, which had slowed down due to COVID-19, sees sales increase in April

[Asia Economy Reporter Onyu Lim] The atmosphere of Sharosugil, the representative commercial district of Gwanak-gu, Seoul, which had slowed down due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), is changing. This commercial district near Seoul National University was named by combining Garosugil in Sinsa-dong and the 'Sha' shape of the main gate of Seoul National University.

On the 24th, the Commercial Information Research Institute, a research and development company for income-generating real estate, analyzed statistics from SK Telecom's big data service platform GeoVision and found that the average daily floating population in the Sharosugil commercial district was 146,943 in April. This means that about 4.4 million people visit the Sharosugil commercial district monthly (based on 30 days).

The estimated average monthly sales of cafes in the commercial district is 16.74 million KRW. Sales, which had been declining since December last year, have turned to an upward trend. In December last year, cafe sales in the Sharosugil commercial district were about 21 million KRW, but due to the impact of COVID-19 and other factors, they had decreased to about 14 million KRW in March.

Researcher Hyuntaek Cho of the Commercial Information Research Institute said, "The Sharosugil commercial district has many distinctive restaurants and cafes, attracting many people and becoming famous. Although the atmosphere of the past was lost due to the spread of COVID-19, the sales of stores (cafes) in the commercial district rose in April, signaling a change in the atmosphere."

However, he added, "The commercial district is experiencing gentrification, losing its unique character. If the spread of the COVID-19 virus prolongs and the commercial district continues to lose its character, Sharosugil may face a crisis."

Meanwhile, the age group with the largest floating population in Sharosugil was people in their 30s, accounting for 22.9% of the total floating population. This was followed by △20s (22.3%), △60 and older (18.4%), △40s (17.2%), △50s (16%), and △teens (3.2%). The floating population in their 20s and 30s accounted for 45.2%, indicating that the age group of the floating population in the commercial district is relatively young.

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