Residents to set business hours and noise standards as Seoul creates ‘coexistence-based’ outdoor dining areas

[Financial News] Seoul is introducing a resident-participation management approach in outdoor dining districts to reduce conflicts arising from outdoor businesses, including noise and litter. The city aims to boost nighttime business districts while protecting the residential environment by having nearby residents take part from the outset in setting operating standards, alongside merchants’ efforts to maintain order.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government said on the 7th that it would pursue coexistence agreements at six Seoul Moonlight Yajang locations, under which residents and merchants will set operating principles in advance. The locations, selected as Moonlight Yajang areas last September, are Konkuk University Food Street in Gwangjin District, Sadang 1-dong Food Alley in Dongjak District, Sadang Orak Moonlight Yajang in Gwanak District, Sangbong Food Alley in Jungnang District, Serosu-gil in Gangnam District, and Changdong Station Shopping District in Dobong District.
The agreements will set out detailed standards for outdoor businesses to follow. They will require businesses to stay within designated operating hours and areas and address problems such as items left out that obstruct pedestrian traffic, noise and odors. Measures to keep restrooms open and surrounding areas clean, and to reduce light and noise disturbances from patio and rooftop businesses, will also be tailored to the circumstances of each district.
Once businesses begin operating, a separate consultative body will monitor conditions on the ground. Merchants, local residents and the relevant district office will discuss ways to resolve complaints related to the outdoor dining areas and are also expected to take part in inspections and cleanups around the business districts. The key is to create a system in which local stakeholders work out problems before administrative agencies conduct follow-up enforcement.
Jungnang District’s Sangbong Food Alley and Dobong District’s Changdong Station Shopping District will be the first to adopt this approach. In Sangbong, the coexistence agreement sets standards on complying with operating hours and designated areas, noise, keeping restrooms open and street cleaning. The merchants’ association will handle complaint intake and its own inspections, while resident representatives will gather local views and relay them to the consultative body.
Changdong Station Shopping District has formed a Moonlight Yajang Promotion Committee involving the district office, merchants, resident representatives and relevant organizations. It will address odors, noise and waste that may result from outdoor businesses and improve the pedestrian environment. Konkuk University Food Street, Sadang 1-dong Food Alley, Sadang Orak Moonlight Yajang and Serosu-gil will also proceed in turn with local agreements and the formation of consultative bodies from this month through next month.
The city will also step up on-site inspections not only in Moonlight Yajang areas but in places where outdoor businesses are already thriving. In Jongno 3-ga, which draws large crowds, nearby residents and pedestrians continue to face inconvenience from smoking, public urination, illegal dumping and a shortage of restrooms.
Jongno District plans to conduct frequent inspections of businesses using roads beyond their permitted areas and add street trash bins and privately run restrooms open to the public. It will also increase the number of on-site personnel responding to smoking, public urination and other issues.
Separate safety standards apply to businesses using outdoor spaces in buildings, such as rooftops. Railings at least 1.2 meters high are required on the second floor and above, and sound equipment, fire-hazard facilities and fixed structures may not be installed. Portable items such as parasols, tables and awnings are permitted.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to first establish a resident-participation operating model at the six Moonlight Yajang locations, then refine it in light of its results and shortcomings and develop it into a system that can be used in other areas with a concentration of outdoor dining businesses.
Park Gyeong-hwan, director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Bureau of Livelihood and Labor, said, “We will establish a cooperative system for Moonlight Yajang in which residents and merchants jointly set operating principles from the planning stage and uphold them themselves, and develop it into a Seoul-style outdoor dining model that can be used in other business districts.”
[email protected] Seong Chorong Reporter