"Rent Is Too High" Handmade Shoe Factories Disappearing in Trendy Seongsu-dong

High Rent Leads to Successive Closures of Handmade Shoe Factories
New Applicants Fall Short for Joint Sales Store
Only Half Complete Handmade Shoe Training Program

"It's already become a dead street."

Seongsu-dong in Seongdong-gu, Seoul was once known as the mecca of the handmade shoe industry. At that time, the headquarters of Kumkang Shoe was located there, and due to its geographical advantage of being close to the Esquire and Elcanto production factories, many shoe factories gathered. However, as Seongsu-dong became famous for its cafes and pop-up stores, it could not avoid 'gentrification' (the displacement of original residents due to rising rents).

The handmade shoe co-sales center located under the overpass at Ttukseom Station in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, is showing a quiet scene.
[Photo by Seong-A Shim]

"We moved to a shared sales space due to high rent, but..."

Han Yong-heum, a craftsman (67) who started learning handmade shoe techniques in 1972, lamented, "The land price rose, and 200 to 300 factories closed, and this is still ongoing." Han operated a store near Yeonmujang-gil close to the Seongsu-dong cafe street for a long time but could not endure the high rent and moved to a shared sales space about two years ago. Han said, "How can handmade shoes sell when they are being sold for 50,000 won per pair nearby?" adding, "50,000 won is hardly enough to cover material and leather costs."

Kim Young-wan, who operates a store in the joint sales area located under the bridge at Ttukseom Station in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, is busy repairing handmade shoes.
[Photo by Shim Sung-ah]

The Seoul Metropolitan Government opened a shared sales space under the Seongsu Station overpass in December 2013 and dreamed of revitalizing the specialized street by training professionals. However, this policy seems to have been ignored so far. In February, during a recruitment for new handmade shoe manufacturers to enter the shared sales space conducted by Seongdong-gu Office, one out of three places had no applicants, leading to a reannouncement with a change of purpose.

Merchants point out that the lease period for the shared sales space is unreasonably short. Kim Young-wan (66), who operates a sales space under the Ttukseom Station overpass, said, "If you could run the store forever, you would think of it as your own home and consider how to develop it, but since you have to leave after five years, only people who want to make quick money and leave gather," adding, "This leads to repeated incidents of selling low-quality products, damaging the reputation and credibility of the specialized street."

There is practically no room to extend the lease period. According to Article 21 of the current Act on the Management of Public Property and Goods, the usage permission period for administrative property is limited to within five years from the date of permission. A Seongdong-gu Office official explained, "Unless there are special reasons, it is impossible to renew the lease period."

'Handmade Shoe and Leather Craft Education' with only half completing

The 'Handmade Shoe and Leather Craft Education' conducted annually by Seongdong-gu is also receiving little attention. Last year, only 7 out of 14 participants completed the course, and 3 of the graduates started their own businesses. A Seongdong-gu Office official said, "Handmade shoe education requires a long period to learn the skills, so the dropout rate is higher compared to leather craft classes."

[Image source=Getty Images]

[Image source=Getty Images]

Experts advise that to revitalize the handmade shoe street, a systematic approach at the level of the Shoe Industry Association is necessary rather than blindly relying on government support. Professor Park Jung-eun of Ewha Womans University’s Department of Business Administration emphasized, "To receive government support, there needs to be a justification that everyone can agree on," adding, "It is important to move as an association or organization rather than as individuals, to draw a development plan and approach it systematically."

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