20-Somethings Go to Grand Seoul... Which 40-Year-Old Gwanghwamun Building Got Moms to Open Their Wallets? [Real Estate A to Z]

Cushman & Wakefield Korea Online Seminar
Comparison of Retail Spending at Five Buildings in Gwanghwamun and Euljiro
New Buildings Set to Flood Downtown, but Half of Existing Stock Is Aging
"Go Beyond Facility Renovations and Create Tailored Retail and Spaces"

It has emerged that visitor numbers and sales at large office buildings in downtown Seoul vary depending on the stores and leisure spaces on their lower floors.

On November 8, global commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield Korea announced the findings of a comparison of retail spending at five downtown Seoul office buildings, presented at a recent online seminar titled "Office Trends and Repositioning Strategies." The analysis combined social media mentions and card sales data for D Tower, Grand Seoul, Seoul Finance Center, KT West, and Mirae Asset Center 1 in the Gwanghwamun and Euljiro areas. Online data was collected from January 2025 through September 2026.

Citizens walk through Gwanghwamun Intersection in Seoul. Reporter Yoon Dongju.

In the past, when people arranged to meet in Gwanghwamun, the landmark meeting point was in front of Kyobo Book Centre. In this survey, D Tower, an office building right next to Kyobo Book Centre, surpassed the bookstore in online mentions related to Gwanghwamun. Sales after 3 p.m. accounted for 56% of D Tower's total sales. Its average transaction amount was also the highest among the buildings surveyed, and its sales index was higher on public holidays than on weekdays. Among related online terms, "restaurants" ranked fourth, "dessert" eighth, "pasta" ninth, "dates" 15th, "waiting" 20th, and "wine" 25th. In addition to nearby office workers, outside visitors who specifically came for dinner or a date in the evening or on weekends drove retail sales.

Nearby Grand Seoul had a high total number of transactions, with people in their 20s and foreign visitors accounting for a large share of payments. Terms among the top 20 in online posts included Starfield (fifth), dessert (11th), lunch (12th), weekends (16th), and cafes (20th). Completed in 2014, Grand Seoul saw online mentions increase by 322% after its retail area was renovated as Starfield Avenue last year. Cushman said Starfield Avenue, with its cafes and restaurants, as well as gaming facilities not found in other buildings, such as the esports arena LoL Park and Riot PC Bang, drew young fans and foreign tourists.

KT Gwanghwamun Building West, next to Gwanghwamun Square, attracted a different visitor demographic from Grand Seoul, whose visitors were mainly in their 20s. The building, which opened last year after its 1986-built headquarters was renovated, had a higher proportion of women and households with children. Its public holiday sales index was second only to D Tower, and its average transaction amount was also among the highest.

On the building's second floor, KT Onmaru, an exhibition space showcasing the evolution of telecommunications technology from telegraphs and telephones to mobile communications, was established. Gwanghwamun Square ranked seventh and the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts ranked 13th among terms in online posts. Cushman said that families visiting the square and performance venues on weekends also brought business to the retail area at the nearby KT Gwanghwamun Building West. However, it noted that visitors remembered individual restaurants or places with good views but often did not recall the name KT Gwanghwamun Building West, identifying building name recognition as an area for improvement.

Seoul Finance Center, completed in 2001, and Mirae Asset Center 1 in Euljiro, completed in 2010, were supported by weekday demand from office workers. At Seoul Finance Center, 51% of total sales came during lunchtime. The share of payments made with corporate cards was also high. Among terms in online posts, "restaurants" ranked sixth, "lunch" eighth, "Korean beef" 13th, and "course meals" 17th; "office workers" (19th), "anniversaries" (24th), and "company dinners" (28th) also made the rankings. Rather than undertaking large-scale construction work, the building improved its lobby and consistently revamped its Korean beef specialty restaurants and course-meal restaurants, catering to demand from office workers for lunch and company dinners, as well as formal gatherings such as meetings between families before a wedding.

Mirae Asset Center 1 also had a high share of payments made with corporate cards. Although sales on public holidays were low, weekday spending by office workers helped it maintain substantial overall sales. Online terms included wellness (sixth), gyms (11th), Pilates (17th), golf (20th), fitness (23rd), saunas (24th), and Bonguri, a Korean set-menu restaurant (27th), all ranking ahead of lunch (28th).

A screenshot of the presentation slides from Cushman & Wakefield Korea's "Office Trends and Repositioning Strategies" webinar held on the 29th of last month. Director Lee Wonhee and Deputy General Manager Choi Junho presented Parts 1 and 2, respectively. Cushman & Wakefield Korea

Office buildings in the downtown area are racing to renovate their retail and leisure spaces amid the aging of office properties and a large pipeline of new supply. Over the next five years, 2.57 million square meters of new office space (about 780,000 pyeong) is scheduled to be added across Seoul's three major business districts: downtown, Gangnam, and Yeouido. About 1.75 million square meters, or 68% of the total, is concentrated downtown. This is more than the combined planned supply in Gangnam (about 730,000 square meters) and Yeouido (about 90,000 square meters).

Meanwhile, 78% of large downtown offices rated A or higher are more than 10 years old, and about 2.21 million square meters—half of the total area of about 4.43 million square meters—will reach 20 years of age within the next five years. In downtown Seoul, the rent gap between newly built offices completed in the 2020s and older offices built before 2000 has already widened to more than 31%.

Lee Wonhee, head of the Retail Consulting Branding Solutions team and a director at Cushman & Wakefield Korea, said, "Employees commute to the office, but the spaces they experience every day shape their perceptions of a particular office building. Office renewal should not stop at remodeling to replace facilities with new ones; it should start with choosing the moments and experiences the property will be responsible for throughout an employee's day."

Choi Junho, head of the Development Consulting team and a deputy general manager at Cushman & Wakefield Korea, said, "It is difficult to compete with newly built offices, where amenities have become increasingly standardized, on building specifications alone. To retain tenants and protect asset value, investors need to create a story suited to the building's location and invest in combining space, content, and professional operations."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.