"What are your move-in plans? If you tell me just 3–4 days in advance, I can get the room ready."
On the 11th, when asking a rental operator in the Museon district of Yeosu about a short-term lease, this was the answer. For 3–6 months, a studio costs a 1 million won deposit and 400,000 won monthly rent. Those terms usually apply to a one-year contract, but they said they would apply them as is to a short-term lease.
Just two years ago, moving into a studio required a wait of 1–2 months; now it has been cut to three days. The change came as day laborers for plant construction—who expand or service factory facilities—dropped out.
◇"Plant workers" down 80%… Museon district's commercial area collapses
The crisis in Yeosu's petrochemical industry has hit local businesses. The Museon district, near the Yeosu National Industrial Complex (Yeosu Industrial Complex), turned chilly. Move just a little and you see placards reading "For lease inquiries" on storefront windows. In a subdued neighborhood atmosphere, only two men in their 20s traveling from Pakistan strode briskly down the street. Unaware of Yeosu's reality, they gave a thumbs-up, saying, "The streets are wide and clean, which is nice."
The Museon district is an area with more than 700 restaurants, bars, and karaoke rooms. With apartment complexes totaling about 2,000 households, clusters of studio apartments, and motels, people working at the Yeosu Industrial Complex spent time here. Recently, though, it has been hard to find people on the streets day or night. Many shops are dark, and even those open for business don't project a boisterous vibe.
A restaurant owner said, "Since it's mostly men commuting to the Yeosu Industrial Complex, they would drink at night and smoke on the street, and it felt like a neighborhood where people lived," adding, "Now I hear even the nightlife spots have no customers. I almost miss the patrons who got drunk and fought."
The downfall of the Museon district is mainly due to the absence of plant construction workers. As recently as last year, plant construction workers averaged 10,000 per month, but this year the number has fallen to around 2,000. As petrochemical corporations struggled against China's low-price offensive, plant projects were halted.
According to the Yeosu City–Yeosu Industrial Complex Co-Prosperity Council and others, as of March this year, orders for new construction, expansion, and regular maintenance of plants at the Yeosu Industrial Complex totaled 474.7 billion won, down about 80% from last year's 2.2012 trillion won.
◇Yeosu shunned by tourists… Major downtown areas such as Hak-dong and Yeoseo-dong also on the decline
It's not just the Museon district. Areas around Hak-dong and Yeoseo-dong, once considered bustling, are accelerating into a slump as the decline in tourism combines with the precarious petrochemical industry.
Unlike the Museon district, it's easy to spot moving cars and people during the day, but at night the mood turns beyond quiet to eerily desolate. Thanks to abundant foot traffic, a retail space that had housed shops for more than 20 years recently posted a "For lease inquiries" notice.
According to Yeosu City, more than 13 million people visited Yeosu annually in the mid-2010s, but the figure fell to around 10 million in 2023. Last year it dropped even further. Following 730 closures in 2023 and 687 last year, about 430 businesses declared "closed" in just the first half of this year. Except for Ungcheon-dong, considered Yeosu's new downtown, everything appears to be sinking.
Kim, a 60-year-old taxi driver who has lived in Yeosu all his life, said, "Even two years ago it wasn't like this, but things have deteriorated rapidly," adding with a wry smile, "Even taxis come right away when you call now, don't they."
With fewer tourists, lodging has also taken a hit. Dolsan in Yeosu has many pensions favored by young people. Those who built pensions to be popular on social media (SNS) said they are now having trouble repaying loans because of the decline in tourists.
Typically, operators built pensions with 30% equity and 70% loans, and if they gained popularity, they transferred them to other operators, repaid the loans, and pocketed a lump sum. But as the number of pensions outpaced tourists, some pension owners are now only worried about servicing their debt.
An official at a second-tier financial institution in Yeosu said, "The loan arrears rate used to be around 1–2%, but recently it has soared to 7%," adding, "The repayment capacity of employees at small and midsize corporations has gradually weakened, and it's also the result of mishaps in the pension business."
On the ground, many said government support is needed. A Yeosu Chamber of Commerce official noted, "There are limits to what local governments can do," and said, "It's time for measures at the government level so that at least industry can regain vitality."