A cluster of handmade shoes shops in Seongsu-dong, Seoul bustles with customers looking for reasonably priced, quality shoes made with care by skilled craftsmen.

- I like shoes. I bought four pairs today, and they are too cheap for their quality. Today I bought strap sandals, because the summer will be here soon. Shoes and accessories complete fashion.
- It’s my first time here. The shoes are all leather, but priced really low and all pretty. They are really cheap. A pair like this would cost more than 200 dollars in department stores, but here they’re handmade and cost only forty dollars. They are made right here in the shop, so I can be sure of their quality.

The handmade shoe town in Seongsu-dong is the Mecca of hand-crafted shoes, comprised of some thirty handmade shoe stores and 350 shoe-making factories. Here’s Ms. Park Dong-hee, president of the Seongsu-dong shoemakers’ association.

In the olden days handmade shoes shops were mainly in the Jongno, Namdaemun, and Hoehyeon-dong areas. But the opening of department stores in the vicinity jacked up the rent and big department stores started selling mass-produced shoes, pushing smaller shoe factories out of the neighborhood and to Seongsu-dong. At the time rent was cheap in Seongsu-dong, so factories and shops gathered here, making this a shoe town. There were about 700 of shoe-making businesses, but now only 350 remain. Many of the shoemakers have grown too old and their skills are lost with no one to pass them down to. Brand name shoes are outsourced to China and young Koreans don’t want to learn how to make shoes by hand anymore. So we decided to put our resources together so as not to let the skill die out. All the businesses here are 100% handmade shoe stores and factories.

It’s been some thirty years since the shoe town in Seongsu-dong was formed. As of now, 86% of Seoul’s shoe industry is concentrated here, as well as suppliers of leather and shoe parts. Master shoemakers here in Seongsu-dong are very proud of their skills accumulated over time. Here are two shoemakers, Kim Myung-shik and Choi Dae-won, to tell us more about their craft.

- I’ve been making shoes for 58 years. I used to make shoes just to make a living. There was a building in Myeongdong where I learned the shoemaking techniques. Very few people work in one area for 58 years. That’s what I’m most proud of.
- Shoes are everything to me. I started making shoes in my teens and have devoted my life to it ever since. There is nothing left in my life without shoes.

Shoemakers in search of affordable rent flocked to Seongsu-dong in the 1980s and started the Seongsu-dong shoe town. A number of shoemakers have survived the years by supplying to well-known footwear brands, but most of the work, from design to production, takes place in the factories of Seongsu-dong. Some of the businesses are even in charge of design development for overseas brands, demonstrating the world-class level of Korean shoemakers’ craftsmanship. But hard work and low pay have caused young Koreans to spurn the craft, so most of the shoemakers are in their 60s. Not wanting to see the skills die out in this generation, the city government of Seoul and the Seongdong District Office overseeing Seongsu-dong have joined forces to preserve the shoe-making expertise. Here’s Ms. Park Dong-hee, president of the Seongsu-dong shoemakers’ association to tell us more.

SSST (Triple S-T) stands for SeongSu Shoe Town. The city of Seoul and the district office are trying hard to make this neighborhood the Mecca of shoemakers. It’s going to be included in a tourism itinerary and we are going to make luxury, designer shoes to attract foreign buyers. These shoemakers have devoted their lives to this one skill. We want them to be confident and proud of their skills and see their work sold in the global market. That will make SSST more vibrant and stylish.

The first project SSST started to preserve the manual shoemaking skills was a shoemaking academy. A 116 square-meter training site in the Seongdong-gu small business support center provides the tools and equipment needed to make shoes by hand. Students learn the very basics, like how to operate the punching machines or knife sharpeners, and then move on to the real shoe-making processes, like how to handle outer leather and put on the soles. The best thing about the five-month course is that it’s free.

The program already graduated two classes and the third class with ten students is currently in training. Since all the skills are passed down one by one, there can’t be that many students in one class, and class time is often short. Here’s shoe master Woo Jung-hyun, who teaches at the training center.

The classes are on six days, from Monday to Saturday, from ten in the morning to five in the afternoon. The students should be committed enough to attend all classes. The actual working environment is even tougher, so they need to be really hard-working. Frankly, five months are too short to learn the skills. The classes are rightly run, with very few breaks, so people would find it difficult to endure if they are not passionate enough about learning how to make shoes.

Master shoemaker Woo Jung-hyun repeatedly emphasized passion and commitment, illustrating that shoemaking is not an easy job. But the students do not dare to skip a class or dawdle under the watchful eyes of master craftsmen-cum-instructors. Here’s Ms. Roh Hyun-sun, one of the students taking the shoe craftsman course.

The instructors know how to deal with a hundred different situations and make shoes under any circumstances. I think that comes from their know-how gained over the decades. These days no job is easy. Today’s young people don’t want to work hard and can’t endure tough situations. I think we can learn a lot from these masters’ devotion to one craft. They are at work all day long, except for meals. I just wish I could follow their footsteps.

The master shoemakers are just glad that there are young people willing to learn the skills. Here’s Mr. Choi Tae-won, who has been making shoes for forty years.

No other country was able to produce Goryeo celadon or Joseon white porcelain. It’s sad that the celadon or porcelain craftsmanship failed to survive to this day. So I’m glad that I have someone young and smart to pass down my skills. Since they are smarter and quicker with their hands than we are, I expect them to make better shoes and have different ideas about footwear. So I teach them everything I possibly can. I always tell them to ask question, that asking questions is the best way to learn and not to forget. I answer all their questions and that’s when I feel that my job has a meaning.



There is even a foreigner among the students. Jeanne Bosco is a French woman whose family business in handmade shoes has lasted for forty years now. She came to Korea looking to make deals with Korean shoemakers. While she was studying the quality and design of Korean-made shoes in Seoul, she came to learn about the free shoemaking program at SSST and, without a moment’s hesitation, decided to apply for it.

I was doing business in China when an acquaintance told me about Korea’s SSST. I came to Korea on business and was completely captivated by the handmade shoes in the market. I applied to this program, because I wanted to learn more about the design and production methods of handmade shoes. I’m trying my best to make the most out of this opportunity.

Jeanne Bosco enrolled in the program in February, and had to extend her Korean visa until June, when the program is scheduled to end. Some aspects of Korean-made shoes are different from those made in Europe, but she says she’s learning more than she ever imagined from the kindness and delicate handwork of Korean shoemakers.

There are some differences in teaching style between Korea and Europe, but I’m learning a lot here. The teachers are really nice and they explain everything. I learned a lot about leather. Shoemaking looks easy at first, but it is actually very difficult. There are so many steps to go through, which require the techniques and experiences of many decades, but the instructors here explain all that in ways that are easy to understand. I don’t think that is a skill, but an art. So I think of each one of them as an artist.

When she completed the program here, she plans to return to France and do a business with SSST, and if possible work together with other students from the program.

What I liked about this program is that I got to broaden my personal network, which would help me do business with Korea. With the help from my instructors, I’m also working out a deal with the factories and other shoe designers. I want to work with my fellow students, too. This program has given me so much that I want to return that to my friends and instructors here. I’m going to advertise their products in France and give them an opportunity to do business with their French counterparts.

In addition to the shoemaking course, SSST opens ShoeShoe Market every first and third Saturday of the month to advertise SSST products to consumers.

Shoppers can not only purchase high-quality shoes at half the retail price, but also can have their shoes custom-made. Another interesting feature is a shoe-making demonstration by master shoemakers.

Did you know that they use a piece of sharp glass instead of scissors to cut leather? Shoppers can’t stop gawking at the shoemakers’ artful hand movements.

- It is more labor-intensive than I thought. I used to think that shoes were too costly, but I think they’re worth the price. This level of craftsmanship deserves that much money.
- It’s very interesting. It’s exciting to see a person’s hand making a shoe one piece by one piece. I think they must be really happy about their job to be doing it so well. It’s amazing.
- Cutting the leather with glass, that’s something only a master craftsman can do. That shows that luxury goods are not created easily. I will have to cherish the shoes made this way.

Made with the skills and care of a master craftsman, the appeal of handmade shoes lies in its comfort as well as its uniqueness. Here’s master shoemaker Choi Tae-won.

Unlike tough and crude factory-made shoes, handmade shoes are supple and look stylish when worn. The beauty of handmade shoes is that they’re artistic rather than functional. It’s old-fashioned to think that shoes have to be resilient enough to be worn for a long, long time. I think everyone would like a pair of handmade shoes.

With ShoeShoe Market emerging as the premier place for quality handmade shoes, business owners at SSST look forward to their trade’s resurrection.

- People come to Seongsu-dong because of the shoes, and I’m glad that I can provide quality shoes to consumers.
- I sold a lot of shoes today. I’m not doing this to make profit. I’m doing this to publicize SSST and to show that there are better products here in Seongsu-dong. We supply our shoes to department stores, but sell them at half-price here. They are the same products. So shoppers who come to SSST can buy first-rate shoes at really low prices.

SSST’s handmade shoes are the products of highly skilled and dedicated master shoemakers of Korea. SSST has become the Mecca of handmade shoes as well as one of the most interesting places to visit in Seoul.