RAS Korea offers walk through Seoul's eastern Cheongnyangni neighborhood
"Revival housing" in eastern Seoul's Cheongnyangni neighborhood / Courtesy of Jack Greenberg
Mention Cheongnyangni, and many Seoulites will think first of Cheongnyangni Station or Gyeongdong Market. But apart from the bustle of trains and heaps of produce and ginseng being sold, this neighborhood has a layered history and continues to confront significant change. From a demolished red-light district to a major rail hub, from public housing to herbal markets, Cheongnyangni has long been a threshold that people pass through, settle briefly or try to forget.
Cheongnyangni served as Seoul’s main eastern gateway for decades, thanks to its strategic location connecting the capital to Gyeonggi Province, Gangwon Province and North Gyeongsang Province via the Jungang and Gyeongchun rail lines. Cheongnyangni Station was also the terminus of Seoul Metro Line 1 when it first opened in 1974. Previously, the area was connected to the city center by streetcar. Tracks were laid for King Gojong, who used the line to visit the grave of his assassinated wife, Queen Myeongseong.
Commercial growth followed the tracks. Markets such as Cheongnyangni Market, Gyeongdong Market and the sprawling Yangnyeong Market have long thrived here, sustained by goods arriving from across the provinces.
Various medicinal herbs are for sale in Gyeongdong Market in eastern Seoul's Cheongnyangni neighborhood. Courtesy of Jack Greenberg
Within the station grounds, there is still a trace of railway history now mostly forgotten. The Inspection Depot, a Nationally Registered Cultural Heritage site built in 1938, once featured 27 railcar bays arranged in a semicircle. Only three remain today, but they serve as the only surviving train car repair facility of its kind in Korea.
The construction of new high-rise apartments and improvements to surrounding infrastructure have brought an influx of new residents to the area. Despite recessionary pressure, property prices in Cheongnyangni have surged, now leading the real estate market for Dongdaemun District. The neighborhood's importance is expected to grow further with redevelopment projects such as districts 6 and 8 and the Miju Apartments plan. Transportation access will also expand with the addition of GTX B and C lines, along with the Myeonmok and Gangbuk Crossing lines. Cheongnyangni Station already connects to Line 1 and three KORAIL-operated commuter lines: the Gyeongui–Jungang, Suin–Bundang and Gyeongchun lines.
On June 20, Seoul’s Metropolitan Government also conditionally approved a major redevelopment project in District 6 of the Yongdu 1 Redevelopment Promotion Zone. The plan includes high-rise apartments, an office building with officetels, neighborhood facilities and the Dongdaemun-gu Family Center. Construction is set to begin in 2027.
The highrises, particularly toward the left, mark the former location of Cheongnyangni 588, a former red-light district. Courtesy of Jack Greenberg
Cheongnyangni 588, once one of Asia’s largest red-light districts and long the neighborhood’s most notorious landmark, has disappeared amid ongoing redevelopment. Until the early 2020s, a maze of window-lined buildings stood just a few minutes from the station. Today, only a few outward signs of the sex industry remain nearby, but the legacy endures. Many still associate the area with its past.
As elsewhere in the country, the sex trade has not ended but shifted. It now hides behind new fronts or operates online. Redevelopment aimed to "clean up" the neighborhood, but without a proper support system for sex workers, so closing these districts has deepened poverty and discrimination. Many women were pushed into other red-light areas with fewer protections and harsher conditions, including parts of Yeongdeungpo and cities north of Seoul like Uijeongbu and Dongducheon. A similar situation is now unfolding in Seongbuk District’s Miari Texas, where evicted sex workers have been rallying for housing support as redevelopment threatens their livelihoods.
Tarps are pulled over closed shops in the red-light district of eastern Seoul's Cheongnyangni neighborhood, Aug. 5, 2016. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar
Beyond markets and rail, Cheongnyangni was also home to Korea’s first psychiatric hospital, originally established in 1945 and reconstructed in 1966. The Cheongnyangni Psychiatric Hospital operated until 2018, when it was shut down due to mismanagement, and was demolished in 2024 to make way for a 20-story officetel and senior welfare center. Famous patients included the painter Lee Jung-seop and poet Cheon Sang-byeong, but ordinary people were also institutionalized by force, the result of collusion between hospital operators and police. The building is gone, but photos and memories offer a glimpse into its role in the country’s mental health care system, which historically favored confinement over community-based programs.
The mental hospital in eastern Seoul's Cheongnyangni neighborhood / Courtesy of Jack Greenberg
Another overlooked part of the neighborhood’s history lies in its stock of public housing. In 1955, Seoul’s city government built 50 units of “revival housing” in the area to address postwar shortages. These were later expanded by the Korea Housing Corporation. Though many have been renovated, their basic layout remains intact. Tightly packed alleyways still show how families adapted modest homes to suit their changing needs. Many older residents remain. Though not a resident, Lee Jong-yeol, 81, who once ran a construction business renovating revival houses here, remains a familiar figure in the neighborhood. He is known for his poetry, guitar playing and for a colorful craft and plant installation made from recycled materials.
A man walks through an empty alley in eastern Seoul's Cheongnyangni neighborhood. Courtesy of Jack Greenberg
Urban change is everywhere. Traditional markets draw crowds and compete with discount stores and delivery apps. Back alleys that once bustled with small merchants often sit quiet during off-hours. Yet gentrification has not transformed Cheongnyangni as it has in places like Seongsu or Euljiro. Elderly residents still make up a large share of the local population, many living alone with limited support. Poverty and social isolation are increasingly visible, contrasted with the wealth of young families moving into the new apartments.
Pots are collected outside a house in eastern Seoul's Cheongnyangni neighborhood. Courtesy of Jack Greenberg
Nevertheless, a new plaza has improved the atmosphere in front of the station, and a co-working space now draws in youth. A hidden Starbucks community store called Kyungdong 1960 has become a destination. It includes a special experience zone in collaboration with LG Electronics, hosts occasional performances by local musicians and donates 300 won from each sale to market revitalization efforts. Night markets and new eateries have begun attracting Millennials and Gen Z, drawn by the traditional market’s retro appeal and the neighborhood’s ongoing transformation.
Whether you are interested in train history, market culture or urban memory, Cheongnyangni offers a unique window into how Seoul changes and what gets left behind. Royal Asiatic Society Korea will offer a walking excursion through Cheongnyangni on Saturday, June 28. The tour begins at 2 p.m. at Cheongnyangni Station Plaza in front of the Lotte Department Store entrance and ends near Jegi-dong Station around 5 p.m. Participation costs 30,000 won, or 25,000 won for RAS Korea members. Comfortable shoes are recommended. Visit raskb.com for more details.
Jack Greenberg works as a consultant, researcher and freelance writer. His current focus is on heritage and conservation issues, historical memory debates, truth-seeking and reconciliation and civilian massacres of the 1950-53 Korean War. He was the recipient of the Global Korea Scholarship and earned a master's in international studies at Korea University. He is also an alum of McGill University.