Seoul Euljiro Alleys: Where Factories Meet Newtro Pubs

Seoul’s Coolest Neighborhood Right Now

Like Brooklyn in New York or Shoreditch in London, cities around the world have witnessed old industrial areas transform into cultural hotspots. In Seoul, that place is Euljiro. What sets Euljiro apart is that the past never disappeared. A 60-year-old print shop sits next to a hip café, and a wine bar occupies the second floor of a building housing a steel and tool shop on the ground level.

Euljiro is evolving in a unique way—the present nestles perfectly between layers of the past.

A Street Named After a Hero

The name “Euljiro” comes from Eulji Mundeok, a legendary general of Goguryeo—one of the three ancient kingdoms that existed on the Korean Peninsula before the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties, with territories extending into parts of what is now China. In 612 CE, Eulji Mundeok led one of the greatest victories in Korean history at the Battle of Salsu, defeating the massive army of the Sui Dynasty, which bordered Goguryeo in what is now China.

In modern times, Korea named its major downtown streets after national heroes, and this street was given the name “Euljiro” after Eulji Mundeok. While serving as a symbol of patriotism and national pride, Euljiro also became the center of Korea’s light industry and manufacturing after the Korean War.

The 1960s-80s: Heart of the Capital’s Economic Growth

After the Korean War, Seoul was in ruins. In 1958, Cheonggyecheon—a stream running through downtown Seoul—was covered, and an elevated highway was built over it, rapidly transforming the Euljiro area. During the 1960s-70s, when Korea’s economy was growing at nearly 10% annually, Euljiro was the beating heart of that growth.

In 1883, Korea’s first government printing office was established in Euljiro 2-ga, naturally forming a printing district connected to nearby newspaper publishers and printing houses. Back then, newspapers were printed with lead type, and Euljiro’s print shops ran 24 hours a day. The lighting district and construction material and tool shops that began forming in the 1960s grew alongside the boom in housing, hotel, and building construction. All of Seoul’s chandeliers and lighting fixtures in the 1970s-80s were made here.

In the late 1960s, an electronics district began to form, and Sewoon Sangga, located between Euljiro and Jongno, even produced clones of Apple’s early personal computer series, the Apple II. This street became a mecca for anyone needing electronics, machinery, metal products, or tools. People used to say, “If you can’t find it in Euljiro, it doesn’t exist.”

The Craftsmen of the Alleys

Euljiro’s true value lay in its system where multiple workshops, built on the specialized skills of master craftsmen, collaborated to complete a single product. Artisans who created custom lighting fixtures that existed nowhere else in the world, metal shops and electronics stores in Sewoon Sangga that could produce any part or product on the spot just from looking at blueprints—these weren’t just manufacturers, but skilled technicians and problem solvers.

The printed materials, metal parts, machinery, and electronic components made in 1970s Euljiro played a crucial role in Korea’s industrialization from the 1960s to 1980s. While metals, machinery, and electronic parts are now produced professionally by larger corporations, even today in Euljiro, elderly shop owners in their 60s and 70s teach letterpress printing techniques to designers in their 30s. Young designers learn the grandfather’s craft, while the grandfather learns the young person’s sensibility.

Bars Moving Into Factories

“Newtro” is a Korean portmanteau of “New” and “Retro,” a cultural trend that became popular in Korea from the late 2010s. In Euljiro, newtro bars and restaurants are actually appearing in genuinely old, weathered buildings and factories, blending naturally with oil-stained walls, rusted iron stairs, and worn signboards.

Euljiro’s uniqueness lies in its temporal duality. During the day, craftsmen in their 60s and 70s operate machinery, while at night, people in their 20s and 30s sip cocktails in bars on the upper floors of those same buildings. First floor: tool shop. Second floor: wine bar. This strange combination feels perfectly natural in Euljiro.

Picture-Perfect Alleys for Social Media

Euljiro is both “Instagrammable” and “Authentic.” In front of rusty shutters, beneath vintage signs, on narrow cement staircases—the younger generation takes their proof-of-visit photos against all these backdrops. Here, they discover the “real face of Seoul.” They experience a space where layers of time have accumulated, something they can’t feel in the sleekly developed neighborhoods of Gangnam or Hongdae.

Sewoon Sangga symbolizes Euljiro’s transformation over time. Built in 1968, Sewoon Sangga was once Asia’s largest electronics mall, but it declined in the 2000s and faced demolition. The elevated walkway passing through Sewoon Sangga offers a unique experience—you can walk while looking down at the Euljiro and Cheonggyecheon areas. Keep walking and you’ll reach Jongno, where you can take in the panoramic view of northern Seoul, including Bukaksan mountain and Jongmyo, the Joseon royal ancestral shrine.

Euljiro for Seoul’s Office Workers

Late 1990s: Where Workers Gathered During National Bankruptcy and Corporate Restructuring

In 1997, Korea faced the Asian Financial Crisis—triggered by a regional financial crisis across Asia, Korean companies with heavy short-term debt failed to repay obligations, and rapid capital outflow depleted the nation’s dollar reserves, leading to bankruptcies of companies large and small and impacting the entire national economy. For Euljiro’s office workers at that time, “after work” was a heavy period. They unwound the day’s exhaustion over a glass of soju at food stalls in Euljiro 3-ga alleys. Under fluorescent lights at cramped tables with cheap side dishes, the conversation topics were always similar: “What if our company shuts down?” “Will my name be on the layoff list?”

Euljiro was then the front line of survival. From medium to large corporations to small business owners, everyone struggled to prevent bankruptcy, secure work contracts, and avoid restructuring. After work hours, Euljiro was a space where people shared worries about tomorrow and found comfort with colleagues over soju.

(Photo of Euljiro office workers)

Why Office Workers Visit Euljiro in 2025

Twenty-five years later, Euljiro’s nighttime scene has changed considerably. Office workers in 2025 still visit Euljiro, but for different reasons. A 30-something office worker from a high-rise building in Gangnam takes the subway to Euljiro. Leaving behind the sophisticated office, they climb rusty iron railings and creaky stairs, settling into a seat at a bar on the rooftop of a 60-year-old building with time-worn walls behind them, with a lover or friend.

Or they visit Euljiro’s old establishments, imagining the emotions and struggles in Euljiro alleys they heard about from uncles or fathers who once worked here.

The Appeal of Spaces Where Time Has Accumulated

If people who visited Euljiro alleys in the late 1990s lived with “survival anxiety,” today’s visitors live with “existential anxiety.” Office workers grow weary from performance pressure arising from companies’ dry, highly systematized work structures, comparisons on social media, and Korean society’s intolerance for anything considered mundane.

Euljiro’s 60-year-old print shop is still in its place. The 70-year-old Chinese restaurant still serves the same jjajangmyeon. In Euljiro’s alleys, things that stand out more because they haven’t changed make you stop in your tracks.

Euljiro’s Hip Bars and Time-Honored Restaurants

Hidden Bars & Pubs: Seoul’s Take on Speakeasy Culture

Euljiro’s bars are hidden like Brooklyn’s secret bars. “Meorijosim” (meaning “Watch Your Head”) closes its shutters at 7 PM, opening only a small door that requires you to duck your head to enter. “537” (meaning 5:37) is located in room 503 on the 5th floor of an old building and actually opens at 5:37 PM. Entrances that make you wonder “Is this the right place?” are quintessentially Euljiro style.

LP bars like “The Edge Seoul” and “Jeonchuk” (meaning “Record Player”) were key players in transforming Euljiro into “Hip-jiro.” Techno, house, and disco flowing from vintage turntables. Analog sound created by 1970s amplifiers. This is why Euljiro isn’t just an “old neighborhood.”

Nogari Alley is an old beer alley famous for “Manseonhof,” known for nogari—grilled dried young pollock—and cold draft beer. The alley is packed with shops serving draft beer, chicken, and dried fish snacks, with tables sprawled across the street waiting for drinking enthusiasts.

Restaurants Over 70 Years Old and Small Open-Air Alley Eateries

Euljiro has Chinese restaurants run by Hwagyo—a term for ethnic Chinese people who settled in Korea long ago—that have been operating for over 70 years. Ogu Banjeom (opened in 1953~) is famous for hand-made군만두 (gun-mandu, fried dumplings), while Andong Jang (opened in 1948) is known for its gul jjamppong (seafood noodle soup with oysters).

Though not a Chinese restaurant, the experience of having samgyeopsal (grilled pork belly) and soju at blue outdoor tables at an “old alley restaurant” is something you’ll never experience at Gangnam’s sophisticated restaurants. As of October 2025, many “old alley restaurants” in Zone 1 are gradually closing due to downtown redevelopment, but Zone 2 still has many busy establishments serving various Korean dishes including samgyeopsal, along with light beer and cocktails, crowded with people of all ages (see map).

Unique Cafés

“Coffee Hanyakbang” (meaning “Coffee Herbal Medicine Shop”) is a time-capsule-like café filled with mother-of-pearl chests, chandeliers, and vintage telephones. “Vacance Coffee” is located on the rooftop of a 9-story building, giving you the feeling of having tea between Euljiro’s buildings.

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Information About the Euljiro Area: See Map Below:

Zone 1: Small-scale construction material shops, beer alley (Nogari Alley), vintage cafés, time-honored Chinese restaurants
Zone 2: Various print shops, hip cafés, bars, Korean BBQ restaurants, etc., densely packed together
Zone 3: Elevated walkway connecting to small electronics shopping centers, passing through Cheonggyecheon to Jongno. You can stroll while looking down at large and small buildings in alleys awaiting Euljiro and Cheonggyecheon area redevelopment. When you reach Jongno, you can easily access Jongmyo/Seosulla-gil, and the view of northern Seoul unfolds behind Jongmyo with Bugaksan mountain.

Arrow marks indicate cafés or restaurants favored by locals

Source: Google map

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Reference
Jongmyo (UNESCO World Heritage Site) / Seosulla-gil

• Transportation: Jongno 3-ga Station (Lines 1 & 3), Exit 11
• Where tablets of Joseon Dynasty kings and queens are enshrined: Royal ancestral shrine for memorial services, approximately 200,000㎡ of vast green space, majestic yet restrained beauty
• Jongmyo Operating Hours: 09:00-17:00, Mon/Wed/Thu/Fri – Guided tours with foreign language interpretation and timed admission, Sat/Sun – Self-guided tours without commentary
• Seosulla-gil: A quiet path along Jongmyo’s stone wall where Joseon-era patrol guards once walked while protecting Jongmyo, now densely populated with hanok cafés, traditional culture shops, and cafés.

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Establishment Addresses

Bars & Pubs:

• Meorijosim (머리조심): Between printing alley and Sewoon Sangga area
• 537: Room 503, 5th floor, old building near Euljiro 3-ga Station
• The Edge Seoul (디엣지 서울): 3F Cliche Records, Euljiro area
• Jeonchuk (전축): Between Euljiro 3-ga and Chungmuro
• Manseonhof (만선호프): Nogari Alley, Euljiro

Restaurants:

• Ogu Banjeom (오구반점): Euljiro 3-ga area (opened 1953)
• Andong Jang (안동장): Euljiro 2-ga area (opened 1948)

Cafés:

• Coffee Hanyakbang (커피한약방): Old Euljiro alley
• Vacance Coffee (바캉스커피): 9F Rooftop, Najeon Building, 1-2 min from Euljiro Ipgu Station Exits 1-2