In the old heart of Seoul, a neighbourhood once defined by its willingness to shelter the forgotten—the elderly, the poor, the queer, the dispossessed—has been crowned the world's coolest, and in that crowning, something essential has been lost. Jongno 3-ga offered what few places dare to: the freedom to exist without performance, without judgment, without the pressure to be seen. The writer who first nominated it now watches as Instagram queues replace chess boards, and chain bakeries displace the humble soup kitchens that fed generations. It is a parable as old as human longing itself—that t
Seoul's 'coolest neighbourhood' loses its soul to tourism and gentrification
Vulnerable residents including sex workers, elderly drinkers, LGBTQ+ patrons, and low-income merchants have been displaced by rising rents and gentrification.