Redevelopment projects to overhaul aging traditional markets near train stations in Seoul are gaining speed. As big-box stores proliferated and the e-commerce market grew rapidly, traditional markets were hit hard, prompting efforts to reinvent themselves by constructing new buildings. The prevailing trend is mixed-use residential-commercial towers. The plan typically puts retail on the lower floors and apartment dwellings on the middle and upper floors, and the biggest advantage is that it is easier to secure profitability than filling an entire building with retail that suffers from high vacancy rates.
According to the Seoul city government and others on the 10th, the Seocho District Office began a public inspection on Apr. 2 for project implementation approval for the Yangjae Market redevelopment in lots 1-7 of Yangjae-dong. It comes three months after the project passed the city's integrated review for redevelopment at the end of Jan. After project implementation approval, the plan can obtain management and disposal approval, followed by demolition and groundbreaking.
Yangjae Market, a five-minute walk from Yangjae Station on Subway Line 3, is a commercial building constructed in 1988. The Yangjae Market redevelopment calls for a new complex commercial building on a 1,102.9-square-meter site encompassing neighborhood living facilities, sales facilities, and office facilities, with four basement levels and 10 above-ground floors. Although the area is a Type 2 general residential zone with a maximum floor area ratio of 250% or lower, under the Special Act on the Promotion of Traditional Markets and Shopping Districts, a 395% floor area ratio will apply, allowing a total floor area of 7,116 square meters.
Beyond Yangjae Market, other markets in prime Gangnam locations are also drawing attention. A representative case is Namseoul General Market in Daechi-dong, Gangnam District, situated along the main road in front of Raemian Daechi Palace (move-in 2026, 1,608 households) between Daechi Station and Dogok Station on Subway Line 3. Namseoul General Market received management and disposal plan approval in 2024 and will proceed with demolition and groundbreaking this year. The plan is to demolish all existing three-story buildings and construct a 14-story mixed-use residential-commercial tower with four basement levels. Bangbae Nambu General Market in Seocho District received management and disposal approval in Aug. last year and is slated to be reborn as a mixed-use residential-commercial building with four basement levels and 14 above-ground floors.
There are signs that the stalled redevelopment of Nonhyeon General Market in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam District, is resuming. Built in 1978 behind Eonju Station on Subway Line 9, Nonhyeon General Market had been left to age among surrounding high-rises and was dubbed "an island in Gangnam." The project, which secured approval for a project implementation plan to redevelop it into a 10-story mixed-use residential-commercial building and applied for a management and disposal plan in Feb. 2024, has seen little progress since. However, last month the association moved to select a project architect and a professional project management firm, signaling movement.
A construction industry official said, "Traditional market redevelopment is hard to advance because stakeholders' interests are sharply entangled and rights relationships are complex, but markets in prime Gangnam locations tend to move relatively fast," adding, "Demand for dwellings is higher than for retail, and it is easier to ensure profitability, so rebuilding as mixed-use residential-commercial has become the recent trend."
In addition, markets such as Gonghang Market in Banghwa-dong, Gangseo District, and Sillim General Market in Sillim-dong are also pushing to transform into mixed-use residential-commercial towers. According to the Seoul Urban Space Portal, 27 markets in Seoul are pursuing redevelopment. More examples of traditional market redevelopment are expected. Until now, projects faced significant constraints because they could proceed only if they met two of the following three conditions: a vacancy rate of 30% or higher; aging (60% or more of buildings older than 30 years, or a safety grade of D or lower); and a decline in floating population of 10% or more over three years. However, Seoul eased regulations last year to allow projects to proceed when "a district mayor deems it necessary for commercial district revitalization and urban development." The city is also reviewing whether to lift or maintain urban planning facility designations for 57 markets in Seoul.