'Yeontreol Park' Commercial Area Struggling Due to COVID-19 Revives

5.2 Million Visitors in May
Sales Also Rising Since April
Cafe Sales Up 2.5 Million KRW Compared to February

[Asia Economy Reporter Onyu Lim] The representative 'Yeontral Park' commercial district, which had slowed down due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), is regaining vitality. Yeontral Park is a linear park located along the Gyeongui Line Forest Trail in Yeonnam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, stretching 6.3 km in length and 10 to 60 meters in width, around which an alley commercial district catering to people in their 20s and 30s has formed.

According to an analysis of statistics from SK Telecom's big data service platform GeoVision by the Commercial Information Research Institute on the 2nd, the average daily floating population in the Yeontral Park commercial district was 172,882 as of last May. This means that approximately 5.2 million people visit this commercial district monthly (based on 30 days).

This area is adjacent to Yonsei University, Ewha Womans University, and Hongik University, resulting in a particularly large young population flow. The age group with the highest proportion of floating population within the commercial district was people in their 20s, accounting for 21.1% of the total floating population. This was followed by △30s (20.8%) △40s (18.7%) △60 and older (19%) △50s (17.2%) △teens (3.2%) in order.

The estimated average monthly sales of cafes in the commercial district were 16.77 million KRW. This is 880,000 KRW higher than the estimated average monthly sales of 15.89 million KRW in Mapo-gu, where the commercial district is located. The age group contributing the most to sales was people in their 30s, accounting for 37.3% of sales. Sales from people in their 20s also recorded 32%, showing that sales from people in their 20s and 30s accounted for 69.3% of total sales.

The Yeontral Park commercial district was not spared from the impact of COVID-19 spread this year. Before the spread of COVID-19, in December last year, the average estimated sales of cafes in Yeontral Park were about 20 million KRW, but sales dropped to about 14 million KRW in February this year.

From April, when the spread of COVID-19 subsided, sales began to recover again and have continued to rise through May.

Researcher Hyuntaek Cho of the Commercial Information Research Institute analyzed the commercial district, saying, "Yeontral Park commercial district is a good location near subway stations and many universities, and its popularity has increased with the addition of unique stores. Also, the nearby Gyeongui Line Forest Trail park provides places to rest and sights to see, attracting many young people to the commercial district."

He added, "However, the Yeontral Park commercial district has also been hit by COVID-19, and rents have been steadily rising, raising the risk of gentrification that could displace original residents, which may lead to a shift toward a depressed atmosphere in the commercial district."

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