Six commercial districts in Seoul, including Sinsa Serosugil in Gangnam, the Konkuk University Food Street in Gwangjin and the Changdong Station shopping area in Dobong, will be developed into the city's first "Moonlight Night Market" districts, combining food with cultural and tourism content. The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to provide up to 2 billion won ($1.4 million) to each district through 2028 to build them into signature nighttime commercial areas where visitors can eat and enjoy themselves after dark.
The city said on the 14th that it held the final citizen participation evaluation for the 2026 Seoul Moonlight Night Market project and selected six sites: Sinsa Serosugil in Gangnam-gu, the Sadang Orak Moonlight Night Market in Gwanak-gu, the Konkuk University Food Street in Gwangjin-gu, the Changdong Station shopping area in Dobong-gu, the Sadang 1-dong restaurant alley in Dongjak-gu and the Sangbong restaurant alley in Jungnang-gu.
The Moonlight Night Market project applies "nighttime economy revitalization," a key pledge by Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon in the June 3 local elections, to neighborhood commercial districts. The aim is to add cultural and tourism content to long-established local eateries and alley restaurants and extend business hours into the night, increasing how long residents and tourists stay and spend.
Nineteen commercial districts across 15 autonomous districts applied. The city narrowed the field to 10 candidate districts through an initial document review, then decided on the final sites by combining on-site evaluations by experts with a final assessment by citizens and experts. The city had originally planned to select five sites but added one more at the suggestion of evaluators, who said many of the proposals were well developed.
The selected districts will offer nighttime content reflecting local characteristics. Sinsa Serosugil will be developed in tandem with the adjacent Garosugil into a district that combines shopping and dining. The Sadang Orak Moonlight Night Market will link Gwanaksan, the chive-and-pork-belly alley and an artists' village to bring together food and local culture. The Konkuk University Food Street will add content tailored to young adults' tastes to the campus area's nighttime dining culture.
The Changdong Station shopping area will be built into a culture-oriented district that pairs K-pop performances with local food, in connection with Seoul Arena. The Sadang 1-dong restaurant alley will draw on the foot traffic at Sadang Station and its dense cluster of restaurants and bars, while the Sangbong restaurant alley will build up nighttime commerce on the basis of its existing food businesses and cooperation among residents and merchants.
The city will provide up to 2 billion won per district through 2028. It will improve safety facilities such as walkways, streetlights and closed-circuit cameras, along with restrooms and waste disposal facilities, and refurbish aging signs and lighting to create nighttime streetscapes that reflect each alley's character.
The city will also develop content linking each district's food offerings with nearby cultural and tourism resources. It plans to create a shared "Seoul Moonlight Night Market" brand and logo and to support online and offline promotion and marketing. It will issue "Moonlight Love Vouchers" tied to the Seoul Love Gift Certificate program to channel visitor spending into revenue for local small business owners.
"Our goal is to create an economy where money circulates like blood, with spending that is now concentrated only in the city center spreading into every corner of neighborhood commercial districts," Oh said. "We will refine our policies in a direction that helps the Seoul economy."
