By The Straits Times | Created at 2026-08-14 04:41:51 | Updated at 2026-08-14 08:43:03
4 hours ago
SEOUL – Seoul is looking to Euljiro’s blend of industrial heritage and lively outdoor drinking culture as a model for drawing more tourists after dark, as city officials pledge safer streets and better multilingual guidance.
The city’s G3 Seoul Planning Committee visited Euljiro on the evening of Aug 13 to examine its night-time culture, pedestrian conditions and visitor flows.
The committee was launched as a public-private advisory body with an aim to develop strategies to help Seoul become one of the world’s three leading cities, according to the city.
“Night-time tourism is a key driver for extending tourists’ stays and bringing vitality to neighbourhood commercial districts,” said Seo Won-seok, the committee’s chairman, in a statement.
The city plans to strengthen its night-time tourism infrastructure, with a particular focus on pedestrian safety and multilingual information services based on the visit and recommendations from the committee’s visit to Euljiro.
Nicknamed “Hipjiro”, Euljiro developed into a major printing district during South Korea’s rapid industrialisation in the 1960s and 1970s.
Still housing small printing shops, metal-working businesses and workshops, the neighbourhood’s small alleys are interspersed with cafes, studios and cultural venues.
Restaurants that serve golbaengi, or spicy sea-snail, and outdoor pubs serving dried young pollack and beer, originally catered to workers from nearby printing and manufacturing businesses.
But they are now popularly known as the neighbourhood’s signature night-time destinations for young South Koreans and international tourists. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
