Techno Mart still struggles with aftermath of shaking

Three months after bizarre shaking incident

By Kim Tae-jong

Techno Mart, a landmark shopping mall in Gwangjin-gu, eastern Seoul, is still struggling to recover from the aftermath of a bizarre shaking incident — thought to be caused by internal mechanical resonance — that jolted the high-rise building more than three months ago.

On early Sunday afternoon, most electronic appliances shops in the building were almost empty. Customers were also hardly seen at clothing shops and restaurants in the basement.

Dozens of young moviegoers were spotted at the CGV multiplex theater on the 10th floor. But the overall mood encompassing the whole mall was quite somber even taking into consideration the sluggish domestic economy.

Most shopkeepers say the shaking of the shopping mall last July, which forced tenants and shop owners to evacuate temporarily, is still overshadowing their businesses.

They looked sullen and tired of waiting for customers.

“Ever since the incident, we have had some 80 to 90 percent less customers,” said a shop owner, who runs a camera store on the fourth floor. “I have only one or two customer during weekdays, and the situation is not much different during weekends.”

Many shop owners have left the mall after shutting down their shops, he said.

Business at Techno Mart became completely different after the July 6 incident that caused the 39-story office building annexed to the shopping mall to shake for about 10 minutes.

A team of architects and seismologists tested the building to figure out the exact cause and concluded a form of aerobic exercise performed by dozens of people in a fitness center on the 12th floor caused the vertical vibrations felt on certain floors. They said the building itself had no structural problems.

To assure the safety, Prime Development, the building’s management company, conducted an experiment in which people ran and jumped in the fitness center to show a similar kind of vibration in the upper part of the building.

But such efforts have been insufficient in dissipating safety concerns completely. The shopping mall is still not back on track.

“It’s the worst,” a shopkeeper who runs a computer parts store said. “I want people to know that it’s safe here. Do you think we’re risking our lives here just to earn some money?”

A restaurant owner in her 50s selling mixed rice on the food corners on the basement also said business had turned substantially worse.

“We have a fewer number of customers than before. But what’s more serious is that we don’t know when it will get better,” she said.

Safety concerns

Despite the desperate voices of shopkeepers, however, few customers show signs of trust over the safety in the mall.

“I know they say it’s safe here but I don’t like coming here, because I’m concerned about safety. So I’m trying to be here as little as possible,” said Park Hyun-bin from Jamsil, who came to the mall with his wife and daughter.

Another customer who visited a multiplex theater on the 10th floor said she feels uneasy when she is in the mall.

“Probably, I come here not as often as before the incident,” Seo Yeon-gyeong from Janghan-dong said. “I came here to see a movie because it is the nearest theater to my home.”

Meanwhile, the fitness center, which caused the tremor, abruptly shut down last week, citing financial problems.

In a sudden notice, owners of the fitness center said they had no choice but to shut down as they had long suffered from financial hardship, especially after the shaking, which led its 2,500 membership to drop to 1,200.

Regarding the sudden closure, Prime Development emphasized that it had long suffered from financial hardship even before the incident, which was not the only reason that it went out of business.

“We are also victims,” Yang Seung-won, a company official, said. “We’re slowly getting back to sales levels before the vibrations. We’re now concerned that the closure is having a negative effect and making people believe we still have a safety problem.”

The Gwangjin-gu Office said the safety of the mall has been guaranteed by experts but there is nothing that they can do to bring back customers.

“It’s a pity that shopkeepers have suffered from financial problems due to the lack of customers,” an official from the district office said. “But since we confirmed the safety of the mall, honestly, there is nothing more we can do about it.”