Once home to shoe factories and metal workshops, Seongsu in eastern Seoul has reinvented itself as the city’s most fashionable district.
Dubbed the Brooklyn of Seoul for its mix of industrial grit and creative energy, the neighborhood is now a testing ground for a new generation of Korean eyewear brands led by avant-garde trendsetter Gentle Monster Co.
Known for its theatrical store concepts and sculptural eyewear, Gentle Monster has redefined how glasses are sold, transforming retail into an immersive art form that blurs the line between fashion and design.
In early September, II Combined Co., the operator of Gentle Monster, opened its new 14-story headquarters complex in Seongsu, housing Gentle Monster flagship store, Haus Nowhere Seoul.
Spanning 30,700 square meters, the massive building features large-scale art installations and robotic sculptures, embodying the brand’s philosophy of selling an experience rather than a product.
Gentle Monster flagship store, Haus Nowhere Seoul, in Seongsu (Courtesy of Gentle Monster)
Gentle Monster’s bold aesthetic has made Seongsu the launchpad for Korea’s eyewear scene, once a niche corner of fashion, where other labels are now scrambling to capture the same cultural cachet.
FASHION EYEWEAR BATTLE HEATS UP
Custom eyewear startup Breezm opened its flagship store, Foundry Seongsu, in late September, allowing visitors to watch AI-powered 3D printers fabricate bespoke frames on-site.
Blue Elephant, known for its distinctive designs and experiential retail at a more accessible price point than Gentle Monster, plans to open a 2,644-square-meter megastore in the neighborhood in November.
Double Lovers, a fashion-forward luxury eyewear brand, recently unveiled a flagship store that fuses high fashion and art through experimental interior design.
The boom underscores how eyewear has evolved from a vision aid into a key fashion statement.
Industry officials also say glasses are now viewed as an entry-level luxury, an affordable way to refresh one’s look without the price tag of high-end apparel or handbags.
Breezm opened its flagship store, Foundry Seongsu, in September 2025 (Courtesy of Breezm)
Buoyed by this wave, the global eyewear market is projected to grow from $111.8 billion this year to $119.1 billion by 2028, according to Euromonitor.
Korean brands are eager to seize a share of the growth with bold designs and competitive prices that challenge established European luxury houses.
Gentle Monster has already built a strong global footprint, operating stores across the US – from California to New York – as well as in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
Breezm opened its first US store in Manhattan last year and expects to generate about $1 million in American sales in 2025, while Blue Elephant recently opened its first Japanese location, Harajuku Flagship Store, in Tokyo.
SEOUL’S NEXT FASHION IDENTITY
Seongsu’s growing status as a tourist magnet is expected to amplify the trend.
II Combined’s headquarters complex in Seongsu
According to data from the Korea Tourism Data Lab, domestic visitors to the district rose from 19.9 million in 2018 to 26.2 million in 2024, while foreign visitors soared from 60,000 to 3 million during the same period, meaning roughly 30 million people visited the area last year.
The influx has driven explosive growth in local spending, with card transactions in the district surging 274%, from 63.7 billion won ($44.7 million) in 2014 to 238.4 billion won in 2024.
In the first half of this year alone, foreign card spending in Seongsu jumped 226% from a year earlier to 131.5 billion won, with more than 95% of purchases going to fashion and beauty products such as clothing and cosmetics.
From Seongsu’s repurposed warehouses to Gentle Monster’s futuristic store, Korea’s eyewear makers are transforming the city’s creative landscape and redefining Seoul’s global fashion identity.
As the Brooklyn of Seoul cements its place as the country’s design capital, the battle for K-eyewear supremacy is shaping up to be the next core Korean cultural export – one seen through a pair of statement frames.
Write to Hyun-jin Ra at raraland@hankyung.com
Sookyung Seo edited this article.