Suzy and her two friends from Taiwan wandered through Gwangjang Market in central Seoul on a crisp autumn afternoon. The three professional dancers were in Korea for dance lessons and stopped by the market to try its famous yukhoe, or marinated raw beef.
After sharing a bowl of raw beef topped with egg yolk and pear slices at a food stall on the eastern end of the market, the trio explored some hip new additions. At Off Beauty, a warehouse-style beauty outlet, one of them picked up a hand cream by Vareli, a Korean lifestyle brand.
Their itinerary reflects the changing face of one of Seoul’s oldest traditional markets. Once dominated by small vendors selling hanbok (traditional Korean clothing), textiles and street food, Gwangjang Market is now embracing corporate fashion and beauty shops, convenience stores, and coffee shop chains, catering to a new wave of tourists.
For Afiqah Razak, 32, a visitor from Brunei travelling with her husband and friends, the market’s transformation was striking. She stopped by to purchase silk for baju kurung – Bruneian traditional women’s attire – just as she did a decade ago while studying in Seoul.
“It has changed a lot in 10 years … back then, the market was mostly for locals, and I hardly saw any tourists. But now there are many tourist-oriented shops,” Razak said outside a Starbucks at the market.
The Starbucks branch, which opened inside Gwangjang Market in May, has quickly become a draw for both Korean and international visitors, offering a view of the market’s alleyways.