Itaewon businesses promote positivity with challenge
Students participate in a yoga class at The Flow Room. / Courtesy of Noriphotography.com
By Hallie Bradley
Businesses in Itaewon are looking to move on from the “Itaewon Cluster” stigma and bring people back to the district that has become a virtual ghost town since early May.
To do that, three local foreign-owned businesses ―
,
and
decided to work together and host
a month-long event called Inner-Outer Glow
in July to not only bring some positive light to the Itaewon area, but also promote healthy habits and sustainability.
The main host of the event, The Flow Room, was established in Itaewon in May 2019. “There were already great English-led yoga classes in Seoul, but there was no dedicated English-speaking yoga studio to provide a center for the community,” founder Isabel Kwak explained. She chose Itaewon as it is not only centrally located in the city, but as her business was built specifically for English-speaking clientele, being in a foreign district in Seoul just made sense.
Isabel Kwak works with a student at The Flow Room. / Courtesy of Noriphotography.com
Business was going great and Kwak along with the other teachers she'd brought on were busy up until February when COVID-19 really began to take hold in Daegu. “We suddenly started getting frequent membership freeze requests,” Kwak said. “It happened so quickly! Then, other yoga studios started to temporarily close down.”
Deciding to follow suit and close as well, Kwak quickly shifted classes to Zoom. Though it wasn't quite the same, she felt it was important to stay connected and keep her community supported throughout the pandemic.
The Flow Room reopened its doors and adapted to government regulations by reducing class sizes to increase distance between mats, checking temperatures of all participants upon entrance, requiring masks and having everyone sign in. Kwak also began offering outdoor classes and events to make people feel more comfortable.
But, just as suddenly as the initial news of the pandemic in Daegu had begun, then the “Itaewon Cluster” happened and the cycle started all over again.
“The constant media attention on Itaewon meant that many of our members were prohibited from coming to Itaewon ― including our studio,” Kwak said. “It was hard because at the time the rest of Seoul seemed to be incredibly busy, yet just Itaewon had this stigma that by being in the area you would catch the virus.”
Almost two months after the outbreak and all of the rigorous testing, local businesses are still feeling the pressure.
“People talk of the Lost Summer of 2020,” Jon Collins, owner of health food delivery service Sprout, began, “so when faced with a staycation summer, the question became how can we make the best of this situation and turn it into a positive?”
The three entrepreneurs, who were already closely aligned, endeavored to create a situation that would allow people to remember the summer of 2020 for more constructive reasons.
The Inner-Outer Glow event is a 30-day yoga, veganism and sustainability challenge that The Flow Room is co-hosting along with Sprout and zero-waste shop Wasteupso. Participants will have access to unlimited yoga classes, a Sprout meal plan and a set of sustainable products.
The interior of The Flow Room in Itaewon / Courtesy of Noriphotography.com
The event officially kicks off on July 1 and Kwak said she hopes “it will provide a focus and bring a bit of positivity back into people's routines after such a difficult period.”
The event is an opportunity to learn about sustainable actions, gain insight into how food choices have an impact on emotions and mental health, and become more aware of the body and gain confidence, strength, and mobility with yoga.
Hallie Bradley is a writer based in Seoul and runs the popular site?
.