Implications of Renovated Buildings in Yeonnam-Dong, Seoul, an Area under Commercial Gentrification

We aimed to identify the characteristics of the changes in the buildings and alleyways in Yeonnam-dong, Seoul, where low-rise, residential buildings are being renovated or repurposed into commercial buildings, as well as to investigate their renovations, repurposes, and sociocultural implications. Thus, we surveyed and classified 149 renovated buildings, investigated the perceptions and ambiance of the area and buildings using a trade area analysis and interviews with visitors and store owners, and uncovered the importance of renovation. Since the early gentrification, a trend of performing renovations that retained the original form of the building from the initial renovation stage was seen; this created an ambiance of nostalgia, naturalness, and authenticity, along with the urban conditions of low-rise, residential buildings in Yeonnam-dong, a representative undeveloped area. These renovated buildings reflect the social status, taste, and practice of gentrifiers, and they reveal a hybridization of the past and present, Korean circumstances and exotic cultures, and residential and commercial buildings. As commercialization progressed, renovated buildings vastly differing from the original and displaying active commercial characteristics were seen. Our findings imply that the area’s early ambiance, which had an air of “distinctiveness”, has lost its personality and begun to generalize. Thus, numerous gentrifiers have been replaced and several aspects of renovation have changed that the visitors are aware of.