Eulji Myeonok shuts its doors as developers move in

Social Affairs

Published: 26 Jun. 2022, 17:33 Updated: 26 Jun. 2022, 18:19

Eulji Myeonok shuts its doors as developers move in

People line up outside Eulji Myeonok in Jung District, central Seoul, on Saturday to get one last bowl of naengmyeon (cold noodles). The restaurant served its last meals on Saturday after 37 years of service as the area will be developed. [YONHAP]

Eulji Myeonok, a restaurant famous for its naengmyeon (cold noodles), served its last meals on Saturday after 37 years of business. With the ongoing development project around the Eulrjiro area in central Seoul, many businesses in the neighborhood have either shut down for good or moved to new locations.

The noodle restaurant, which plans to eventually reopen at a new location, had a long line of regulars who wanted to enjoy one last meal at the restaurant, queueing on the sidewalk even as the temperature pushed 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) around midday on Saturday.

“So many even cried,” said Hong Jeong-suk, the 67-year-old owner of the restaurant. “They must be really [sad] that this is the end and that the place they had built their memories will now be gone.”

The restaurant stayed open until 4 p.m., one additional hour than originally announced, to cater to more customers waited in line until the kitchen was out of ingredients.

“As soon as we leave the building, it will be demolished,” said Hong.

The restaurant first opened in 1985 and served Pyongyang-style cold noodles. But as the city’s plan to develop the area by demolishing outdated buildings was approved in 2017, the process to provide proper compensation to owners of the buildings in the area started from 2019.

The restaurant owners opted to take the money offered as compensation for the destruction of the building rather than take a new location once the area has been renovated, but struggled for years to negotiate terms with the company tasked with overseeing the development project. After a protracted legal battle, the Seoul High Court on June 14 ordered the owners to hand the building to the development company.

The Eulji Myeonok building was the last of 103 buildings in the neighborhood marked as the "3-2 district" under the project to be handed over to the company.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to create a park between Sewoon Arcade and Jinyang Arcade in Jung District, central Seoul, and construct multi-purpose buildings with residential and commercial units.

While some welcome the city’s efforts to revamp the neighborhood by constructing new buildings, others are skeptical about the future.

Lee Seok-un, the 69-year-old owner of an electronic shop in Daerim Arcade, assumes that he might not be able to continue his business in the area after the redevelopment is complete.

It isn't just the older tenants that are concerned about the future. Some of Lee's neighbors — young artists and designers who capitalized on the old, industrial feel of the area, affectionately nicknamed "Hip-jiro," to open popular restaurants, cafes, bars and studios — are concerned that the redevelopment project will take away Euljiro's identity.

BY KIM DA-YOUNG, LEE SUN-MIN [summerlee@joongang.co.kr]