Who doesn’t love shoes?
The Handmade Shoes Street located at Seongsu-dong is a big reminder of the humble beginnings of Korea’s shoe industry. The handmade shoes industry started sprouting around Seongsu-dong in the 1990s. The area was the cheaper option for shoemakers after Myeongdong and Seoul Station’s very high rent for space.
These days, it isn’t just a shoe manufacturing area where shoe parts are for sale and ready to wear shoes are on display along the alleys of Seongsu-dong. It is slowly becoming home to trendy cafes, too. I already went twice to CO:LUMN, Factory and Warehouse Turned Trendy Cafe, a huge resto/cafe serving excellent dishes.
The whole area, starting from the subway station, is a gallery of… shoes!
Don’t forget to check the mini-galleries before you get out of the station. It has an interesting display of the different kinds of shoes being manufactured in the area as well as bits of information about its history.
And there are a number of video presentations and revolving display of different kinds of shoes.
Out in the street, the Handmade Shoes Street starts right here:
rightfully stamped with “Made in Seongsu”
It has multiple spots for your photography pleasure from this spot onwards:
I don’t know exactly how this red circle platform fits right in this neighborhood of shoes but it does make a statement!
This one’s a cool mural and shows the updated heart-shaped fingers we now frequently see in pictures.
But what did we come here for?
THE.RED.SHOES.
Where are the shoe stores?
Everywhere. Go around the station and you see stores selling shoes and shoe materials. You can start from Exit 3 and slowly go around the area. There are stores with well-managed and arranged shoe displays but there are the humbler ones, too. Don’t hesitate to get in because once you touch the shoes, you’ll see the materials they’re made of are good. The designs are competitive with the more expensive department store-bought shoes.
How to go there?
Just get off Exit 3 of Seongsu Station (Line 2).
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That red shoe is stunning! And your black and white outfit fits right in. Seongsu neighborhood seems lovely with a very stylish theme and cause. Does that mean that Seoul has divided or is dividing itself in various ways to attract visitors for shoes, palaces, shopping, etc?
Haha what a quirky and random little place! Of course it would be in Korea 🙂 I love the red stiletto. Did you actually shop for any shoes? hehe
I am so gutted I missed this whilst living in Korea – I love shoes! What a unique place with some great photo opportunities. Will have to check it out when we make it back to Korea!
Wow! Interesting piece here. It looked like those photos were a ton of fun to take. Enjoyed checking out this post…great job!
Just wow! I would love to go there, knowing that I love shoes. For sure sobrang mageenjoy ako dito, sobrang ganda ng mural I want to take some picture with it and the big red shoe 😍😍 I’ll add this place to my list. 😊❤
Woww i super love this street puro shoes gusto ko makapunta dyan someday kase i really love shoes talaga 😍❤️
Yay i love shoes Ms.Wendy and ang ganda ng red stiletto favorite color ko pa naman😍Sana someday makarating din ako sa korea para mapuntahan din ang factory nila😍😍
Wow ang ganda po 😀 worth visiting tong place na to, parang counterpart sya ng marikina 🥰😀