Old Factories, New Seoul: Walking Through Seongsu

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1. The Origin of Seongsu

When I walk around Seongsu today, it's actually hard to imagine that this was once an industrial neighborhood.

Back in the 1960s and 70s, the area was packed with small factories, printing shops, workshops, and especially handmade shoe factories. If I walk a little deeper into the side streets, I can still find signs for the old shoe district, metal shutters, and buildings that clearly belong to another time.

That's one of the things I find interesting about Seongsu.

Around the mid-2010s, people started turning these old industrial buildings into cafés, restaurants and shops. Then came the brands, the pop-ups and eventually the luxury names.

Now Seongsu is one of the hottest — and most expensive — neighborhoods in Seoul.

But when I look at some of these beautiful cafés, I can still see the old factory underneath. Many kept the original brick walls and warehouse exteriors and completely changed only the inside.

Sometimes I stand in front of one and think, Wait, this was really a factory?




2. The Heritage of Seongsu

The more I walked around Seongsu, the more I felt that this neighborhood has layers.

I would see an old red-brick building, then a high-rise apartment sticking up behind it. I would pass an old workshop that still looked like it was doing business, and right next door there would be a beautifully designed café or concept store.

And strangely, none of it feels completely out of place.

Even Seoul Forest has a very different past. Part of this area was once used for industrial and municipal purposes before becoming the huge green space people come to enjoy today.

For me, you only see half of Seongsu if you come here just for the trendy cafés and pop-ups.

I like looking at what's still left behind.

The old and the new don't seem to fight each other here. They just sit next to each other.

And I think that's the real heritage of Seongsu.


3. The Charm of Seongsu

I think there are a few reasons why people keep coming back here.

First, I love the spaces. Because many buildings started as factories or warehouses, they have high ceilings, wide interiors and rough industrial details. They naturally became exactly the kind of spaces that cafés and brands want today.

But what I enjoy even more is that Seongsu isn't too neat.

It's not like walking through a perfectly planned neighborhood in Gangnam. I can turn into a tiny alley without knowing what's there and suddenly find a bakery, a bar, a vintage shop or something I wasn't expecting at all.

And Seongsu never seems finished.

Pop-up stores disappear, new ones arrive, and shops change constantly. Even when I come back after a few months, I usually find something that wasn't there before.

Maybe that's why I don't get bored walking around here.

There's always another corner I haven't checked yet.






4. Discover Seongsu

While walking around Seongsu, I noticed quite a lot of foreign visitors too.

Some seem to come for the retro and vintage side of the neighborhood. Shops like MAC & CHEESE, old brick buildings, converted factories and cafés with their original industrial details are probably exactly what they're looking for.

But I also saw people doing what I like to do here — just walking.

No strict route. No need to rush from one famous place to another.

Around Seoul Forest and the streets of Seongsu, I can find a Turkish café, a vintage shop, a strange little building filled with several different businesses, a pop-up I didn't know existed, or a tiny restaurant that suddenly makes me hungry.

That's how I prefer to discover Seongsu too.

I walk, I look around, I turn into a street because it looks interesting, and sometimes I stop just because something brings me back to my nostelgia.

On this day, that eventually led me to a bubbling pot of tteokbokki.

Not a bad way to take a break in Seongsu.




HOW TO GET TO SEONGSU

📍 Seongsu Station (Seoul Subway Line 2, Green Line) — Exit 3 or 4

📍 Ttukseom Station (Seoul Subway Line 2, Green Line) — Exit 5 or 8


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