Euljiro: Old industrial zone blends grit and creativity, but how much longer will it last?

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Euljiro: Old industrial zone blends grit and creativity, but how much longer will it last?

Published: 28 Nov. 2025, 07:00 Updated: 28 Nov. 2025, 17:19

LEE JIAN
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

[ABOUT TOWN]: Euljiro

Seoul is often viewed as a modern, trendy metropolis filled with high-rise buildings, bright billboards and zooming subways. But behind its stylish facade is a more down-to-earth, people's place that goes less noticed. Depending on the part of the city, busy-working locals find solace and joy in sizzling pork belly in an intimate barbecue restaurant, soju shots under a tent, coffee on the roof of a decades-old building and walks along the city's hidden trails. Each dong, or neighborhood, has its own unique history and remnants of the past, making Seoul a checkerboard of cultures and atmospheres.

In this series, the Korea JoongAng Daily examines both the past and present of Seoul's neighborhoods, offering recommendations on how to spend a day there like a local, including what to see and where to eat.

A street at Euljiro, in Jung District, central Seoul[LEE JIAN]

Some call it drab. Others call it retro. Either way, Euljiro is too cool to care.

An old industrial town, the neighborhood was an empty lot, cleared by the Japanese colonial government in the 1930s as a firebreak. It then became a refuge for displaced people after the Korean War and soon transformed into one of the city’s most infamous red-light districts. As Korea industrialized through the 1960s and ’70s, Euljiro evolved into clusters for printing presses, hardware shops and metal workshops that helped propel the country’s manufacturing boom. It also played a crucial role during the pro-democracy movement by producing underground materials in secret.

But by the 1990s, Seoul’s economy shifted south, and Euljiro declined. Only recently, artists, designers and young entrepreneurs rediscovered its gritty charm, converting workshops into cafes, bars and studios — earning the neighborhood a new nickname, “Hipjiro.”

Euljiro's common snack, nogari, or dried, young pollock fish, is being cooked at a bar in the neighborhood.[JOONGANG ILBO]

For the modern traveler, Euljiro may not be the most giving destination.

Finding anything is a feat. Alleys twist like a maze. Signboards barely exist. And once you’ve made it in, forget comfy seats or elbow space.

But what Euljiro lacks in convenience, it makes up for with unique, uncurated energy — industrial workers rushing between workshops, the sharp metallic scent in the air, sparks flickering from welding guns behind half-open shutters, next to a gourmet drip coffee shop, a whiskey bar or an avant-garde gallery.

For all their stark differences, these spaces and people don’t harmonize — they quietly coexist, each absorbed in work within their own cramped corner of the neighborhood. And perhaps that’s all many of us want: to do what we do, live as we are, and still be given space and respect.

Preservation or Development? Sewoon Plaza, ground zero of Seoul’s latest urban debate.

The Sewoon Plaza [LEE JIAN]

Opened in 1968, Sewoon Plaza was once a commercial landmark so comprehensive that people joked you could buy “missiles and tanks” there. Its debut was glamorous: central heating and elevators above streets where poverty prevailed. Celebrities and diplomats lived upstairs; downstairs, imported electronics and records drew young tastemakers searching for banned music. But as southern Seoul's Gangnam District rose in the ’70s and Yongsan Electronics Market opened in 1987, Sewoon’s glory faded.

Today, it is back in the headlines thanks to Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon's controversial plan to transform the area into a “full-scale urban garden" after years of deadlocked negotiations. As the new buildings may threaten the vista of the nearby Jongmyo Shrine — a Unesco site — the central government and Unesco are butting heads with Oh, who insists that revitalization is overdue.

A view of Jongno District, displaying the Sewoon Plaza area and the Jongmyo Shrine [JOONGANG ILBO]

Urban politics aside, the clusters of restaurants, cafes, galleries and indie shops at the Sewoon Plaza today make it one of the easiest ways to experience Euljiro.

On the pedestrian overpass connecting Sewoon to Daelim Plaza, Wuchuujin offers a simple yet deeply satisfying bowl of sio (salt) ramen with slices of sous-vide chicken breast (9,000 won, or $6). It may not be the most sophisticated ramen, but the balance and nuance of the broth — the sharp saltiness that cleanly cuts through the chicken’s fattiness — has earned the restaurant a steady batch of regulars.

Electrical parts manufactured in Euljiro are displayed at the Sewoon Electronics Museum, located on the pedestrian overall of the Sewoon Plaza [JOONGANG ILBO]

Mini museum-style exhibits also dot the overpass, showcasing Euljiro’s industrial history and the electronic components still produced in these alleys. A small book lounge offers free seating and shelves of tech magazines, essays and novels.

For caffeine, Beolsae serves fragrant drip coffee (6,500 to 11,000 won, depending on the beans) in thin china cups while jazz and classical LPs play through oversized speakers. No dessert — but just a few steps away, Bbawoo Donass sells retro, sugar-dusted Korean doughnuts (ranging from 1,500 to 2500 won), fried fresh and fluffy.

Korean-style donuts are sold at Bbawoo Donass near the Sewoon Plaza. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

A hidden art district

Artist Shin Jong-chan's hanji works are displayed at Sahng-up Gallery on Nov. 25. [LEE JIAN]

Look closely — above a paint shop, in a basement, behind a tool store — experimental galleries dot the retro streets.

Sahng-up Gallery, up narrow flights of stairs, is showing Shin Jong-chan’s visceral hanji (traditional mulberry paper) works, titled “Twelve Studies of Water," until Dec. 2.

There is also an outdoor photography exhibition by the Moving Gallery Project, on display through Nov. 30, that wraps around the alleyways near Euljiro 4-ga Station. Shuttered storefronts and stained concrete become the backdrop for images from around the world. Following the trail deeper blurs the line between the photos and its chaotic surroundings — tangled cables overhead, the clanging sound of metal, old radios playing faint Christmas songs. As viewers suspend themselves between the live Euljiro of the present and the places captured in the photographs, the exhibit becomes truly a living gallery without walls.

Photography are being displayed around the alleys of Euljiro for a pop-up show hosted by the Moving Gallery Project on Nov. 25. [LEE JIAN]

Visit a dabang

The interior of Eulji Dabang, a traditional coffeehouse that was founded in 1985 [JOONGANG ILBO]

Before today's trendy cafes were a thing, classic teahouses — or dabang — were Euljio's caffeination station of choice.

Eulji Dabang, which opened in 1985, is one of the few still standing. A kerosene heater topped with a whistling kettle, reddish-brown faux-leather sofas — it feels like stepping into a sepia film.

Ssanghwatang [JOONGANG ILBO]

A nostalgic menu item for locals is the dabang coffee (4,000 won) — a sweet kind of coffee mixed with sugar and powdered creamer. More adventurous travelers should try the ssanghwatang (6,000 won), a deep-brown herbal tea infused with cinnamon, licorice and angelica root, topped with nuts and sliced dates. Here, it comes extra thick, and as per tradition, a raw egg yolk is added for stamina.

Euljiro after dark

People queue in front of Eulji Odeng on Nov. 22.[LEE JIAN]

When the sun sets, metal shutters roll down — and plastic tables come out. Euljiro transforms into a neon-lit night economy fueled by soju, fried snacks and loud music.

Oldies Taco is a chaotic-good choice — expect a line, a little mess and deeply satisfying tacos piled high with meat and toppings.

Dowuddo is a cozier option serving hearty donburi bowls with refreshing highballs. The mackerel version (13,900 won) comes with a whole grilled fish — juicy, deboned and laid over tender rice with scallions, a sweet-savory soy glaze and slivers of ginger.

Spicy sea snails is a staple dish in Euljiro. [LEE JIAN]

For a more retro atmosphere, try Euljiro’s most famous pub grub, the spicy seasoned sea snails. The dish dates back to the 1960s when workers in the neighborhood snacked on canned sea snails — a cheap snack — with soju after long shifts. It evolved into a fiery salad mixed with gochujang, dried pollack and heaps of scallions at "Euljiro Golbaengi Street," as the road is called today. Shops sling the same essentials: the spicy sea snails (29,000 won) with fluffy egg rolls, jeon (savory fritters) and skewered fish cakes. It’s not subtle cuisine, but it captures Euljiro’s raw, bold spirit.

In winter, wrap up the day at Eulji Odeng for the seasonal grilled sandfish (19,000 won) — small, finger-length fish that is deliciously charred and filled with buttery roe that pop gently as you bite. The tables are equipped with warming pots of fish cakes on the L-shaped counter, where diners sit shoulder to shoulder with strangers, but no one seems to mind.