'Sinchon Boxquare' Evolves... Adapting to the Contactless Consumption Trend

Various Policies by Seodaemun-gu to Revitalize Sinchon Boxquare 'Hit the Mark'... Synergizing with Tenants' Will to Overcome Recession... Sales Increase Achieved Despite Social Distancing Challenges

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Seodaemun-gu (Mayor Moon Seok-jin) announced on the 8th that Sinchon Box Square (22-5 Sinchon Station-ro), built for street vendors in the Ewha Womans University specialized street and young entrepreneurs in the food service industry, is showing vitality with tenants' sales increasing despite difficulties caused by social distancing measures.

This is noteworthy as it dispels concerns from its opening in September 2018 that "business would not do well because of the low foot traffic in front of Sinchon Station on the Gyeongui-Jungang Line."

The recent success is analyzed to be the result of Seodaemun-gu's continuous implementation of various policies to revitalize 'Sinchon Box Square' and the active response from the merchants.

Before the outbreak of COVID-19, Seodaemun-gu consistently held various cultural events such as the 'World Culture Gift BOX' and 'Busking by Domestic and International Musicians' to establish Sinchon Box Square as a complex cultural space where diverse food and culture coexist. For this, cooperation with foreign embassies in Korea was also pursued.

After COVID-19, in the past year, due to the 'decrease in foreign tourists' and 'transition of nearby universities to online classes,' rather than holding offline events, the focus was on 'capacity-building education' to help merchants quickly adapt to the rapidly changing food service industry environment and customer demands.

Through this, training on customer service, hygiene, and taxation necessary for store operation was provided, and tenants were able to develop delivery-friendly menus with direct assistance from five-star hotel chefs and food service experts.

For merchants unfamiliar with using smart devices, consulting was provided to easily utilize online sales platforms, receiving favorable reviews.

As a result, while the overall sales of tenants in Sinchon Box Square showed positive trends, one store mainly selling pork cutlet menus achieved about a fivefold increase in sales in 2020 compared to 2019.

Additionally, Seodaemun-gu, through a consortium with Ewha Womans University and Efood Lab Co., Ltd., operating the 'Youth Growth Restaurant' within Sinchon Box Square, received the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Award at the end of last year and was selected as the project operator for three consecutive years in 2019, 2020, and 2021.

Accordingly, from April to December this year, about 12 pre-startup teams composed of youth and university students will sequentially operate restaurants in two stores, not only achieving the original goal of 'food service startup incubating' but also greatly contributing to enhancing the overall vitality of Sinchon Box Square.

Moon Seok-jin, Mayor of Seodaemun-gu, stated, "Contrary to expectations that it would be difficult under social distancing, the good business results are due to the merchants' persistent and hard work," adding, "However, we will actively support stores with relatively low sales, such as miscellaneous goods shops, to transition to other promising industries."

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