Sinjungang Market in Seoul's Jung District will be remade into a place where visitors linger, with a timber-frame roof that lets in natural light and stepped rest areas. The project will improve connections among the 16 alleys surrounding the market and extend pedestrian and tourist routes to the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) and the Sindang-dong area, turning the market into a space for food and culture as well as shopping.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government held a groundbreaking ceremony at Sinjungang Market on the 22nd and began construction. It is the first project to break ground under the city's design innovation program, which upgrades traditional markets by overhauling their space, circulation and streetscape together. Unlike the conventional approach of installing uniform arcades and amenities, the program reflects each market's history, alley layout and commercial character in the design. Total project cost is about 18.7 billion won ($13 million), with completion set for August 2027.
At the center of the work is the existing arcade covering the market. The city will make the most of the current structure while rebuilding it as an eco-friendly timber-frame roof that admits natural light. Stepped rest areas for visitors and merchants will be added throughout the market, and exposed power lines and other fixtures will be repaired.
The project will also reduce the divide between the market and nearby alleys. "Open roofs" serving as gateways will be installed at the entrances of the 16 alleys that adjoin Sinjungang Market. The aim is to link pedestrian flows inside and outside the market so that visitors move naturally from the market to surrounding shops. The design applies "Roof Wave," proposed by Yoap Architects and TCA Architects & Planners.
The city plans to use Sinjungang Market as the anchor of a "Dongdaemun-Sindang nighttime tourism and commercial belt" running from the DDP to the Sindang-dong tteokbokki alley, known as "Hipdang-dong," and the Central Asian street in Gwanghui-dong. Nighttime food and cultural programs using the market's new roof and rest areas will be prepared together with the merchants' association and other groups.
Sinjungang Market is the first site in the city's design innovation program for traditional markets. In 2023, Seoul selected Sinjungang Market and Tongin Market in Jongno District for the program and has since carried out design work. Tongin Market will complete its design in November this year and break ground in February next year. Cheongnyangni Comprehensive Market in Dongdaemun District will hold a design competition in February next year.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said the project is "a starting point for redrawing the future of the market, going beyond simple facility improvements." He added, "We will make it a market where residents and tourists stay longer and where vitality spreads to the surrounding commercial district."
