Seven out of 10 visitors to Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) went to the nearby Dongdaemun commercial district to spend money, according to an analysis. DDP has maintained a surplus since 2023.
On Feb. 8, the Seoul Design Foundation analyzed DDP's impact on the Dongdaemun commercial district using data from the Seoul Open Data Plaza, Korea Tourism Data Lab, Seoul Tourism Organization, Seoul Metropolitan Government's Survey on the Actual Conditions of Inbound Tourists, and a DDP perception survey, and released these findings.
DDP opened in March 2014. Last year, 17 million people visited, and cumulative visitors over 11 years reached 126 million. In 2024, it was ranked No. 5 as a site that foreign tourists were satisfied with, following N Seoul Tower, Lotte World, Cheonggyecheon, and Seoul City Hall.
In a survey of 500 Seoul residents and 107 foreigners last year, 68.4% among respondents had visited DDP, and 45.2% said they had visited DDP more than twice. After visiting DDP, 48.4% of Seoul residents and 51.4% of foreigners said they used the surrounding commercial district. The expenditure amount was at least 30,000 won but less than 50,000 won, and they mainly spent money at restaurants and cafes.
In a survey of 676 people nationwide conducted in January this year, 80% said they had visited DDP at least once. Afterward, 69.8% said they used the Dongdaemun commercial district. The main spending categories were food and beverages at 37.4%, exhibitions and culture at 16.9%, and clothing and fashion at 15.3%.
Foot traffic is also increasing. The number of passengers getting on and off at Dongdaemun History and Culture Park Station on Seoul Subway Lines 2, 4 and 5 reached 25.72 million in 2024. That was a 23.8% increase from 2022 (20.76 million).
Annual card sales in the "Dongdaemun Fashion Town Special Tourist Zone" were estimated at 1.4491 trillion won last year. That was up 5.2% from 2019 (1.3778 trillion won).
The Seoul Design Foundation said, "Recently, DDP has expanded its role beyond exhibitions into a platform where K-culture content is experimented with, expanded, and aggregated through design."
Last year, K-culture-related content at the DDP Art Hall accounted for about 15% of all programs. Venue rental income from such content made up 19% of the total. Last month, a special exhibition for director Ryoo Seung-wan's new film "Humanist" was held at the DDP Igansumun Exhibition Hall.
On the night of Dec. 31 last year, a New Year's countdown event was also held at DDP. Nighttime foot traffic in the commercial district near DDP at the time rose 559.2% compared to the average for the same time slot.
In September last year, the "Design Miami in Situ" exhibition was held at DDP, drawing 250,000 visitors from Korea and abroad.
DDP's financial self-sufficiency ratio was 104.2% last year. After surpassing 100% for the first time in 2023, it has maintained a surplus structure for three years. The financial self-sufficiency ratio is the amount of DDP's own income from venue rentals, leases, and parking divided by operating expenses. In other words, it earned 4.2% more income than the expense needed to operate the facility last year.
Seoul Design Foundation CEO Cha Kang-hee said, "DDP is Seoul's future strategic infrastructure where collaborative networks, technology, and international exchanges accumulate," adding, "We will develop AI, international cooperation, and commercial-district-linked programs to strengthen a structure of longer stays and broader spending around DDP."
Ahead of the June 3 local elections, DDP became a political flashpoint. Jeon Hyun-hee, a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker for Seoul Jung–Seongdong A, on the 3rd declared a run for Seoul mayor and pledged to dismantle DDP and build a performance venue called "Seoul Dome Arena" on the site, where K-pop shows would be held regularly.
In response, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon appeared on TV CHOSUN the previous day and said, "DDP is the only public building that runs a surplus, a real moneymaker," adding, "It is a landmark that tourists visiting Seoul always stop by."