From Soju to Tacos: How One Seoul Neighborhood Brings Generations Together

Just after sunset in the evening, the alleys of Inhyeon-dong in central Seoul filled up fast. Red and blue plastic chairs lined up under faded signs for stickers, envelopes, and pharmacies. Inside the narrow Inhyeon Market lane, barely two meters wide, middle-aged men and young couples crowded around small tables, pouring rounds of soju side by side.

"Oh, you're back again?"

A restaurant owner spotted a familiar face and called out with a grin. "It's almost Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving), so I won't be able to come for a while. Had to drop by," one man said, laughing as he stepped inside. At another table, an owner and a regular traded updates and refilled each other's glasses. Office workers in suits from nearby buildings mixed into the scene after clocking out.

Walk a few steps outside the market and the crowd changes completely. Red and green neon flickers next to old pharmacy and print shop signs. A line of teens and people in their 20s waited in front of a taco spot. At nearby bars and restaurants, young foreign visitors sipped beer. Some stopped to take photos against the weathered signage. Inside the market, longtime regulars raised soju glasses. Just outside, young Koreans and tourists held pints of beer.

Inhyeon-dong has changed without losing many of the businesses that shaped its older identity. Printers, binderies, and signature restaurants still operate under their original names, with cafes, bars, and izakayas slipping into the gaps between them. The old signs and tangled alleys have become part of the appeal, giving younger visitors a distinctly old-Seoul backdrop while new restaurants and bars fill the spaces around them.

Inhyeon Market took shape naturally between the late 1950s and early 1960s. The nearby Chungmuro print alley, originally home to shops that printed movie flyers, hit its peak in the 1980s when printing businesses relocated from the Euljiro area. Even now, printing, binding, and sticker shops are packed tightly between the low-rise buildings. The Seoul city government has designated the area as part of its Seoul Future Heritage program.

That evening, decades-old drinking circles and tourists on a dinner outing shared the same alleys. Rather than replacing the neighborhood's older identity, the newer businesses have settled alongside it, creating a part of Seoul where different generations and cultures meet on the same block.