Laundry, printing, cleaning, repair, home and business services.
Running from October 14 to 25 under the theme “The Design Recipe,” Seoul Design Week 2026 highlights the relationship between creativity, urban culture and everyday life. Beyond the main event at Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Seoul’s independent shops, neighborhood spaces and street-level experiences reveal how design contributes to the city’s evolving creative economy.
Once regarded simply as Korea’s cheapest form of accommodation, the traditional yeogwan may have new potential in the experience-driven travel era. As Seoul’s older neighborhoods embrace hanok stays, urban homestays, guesthouses and Airbnb-style accommodation, Korea’s small lodging industry is shifting from selling inexpensive rooms to selling local experiences. Could “Yeogwan” itself be reinvented as a distinctly Korean hospitality brand?
South Korea has one of the world’s densest convenience-store networks, but the market is changing. More than 53,000 major-chain convenience stores compete with corporate supermarkets, independent neighborhood markets and traditional “mom-and-pop” grocery stores. SOHOFRANCHISE examines the national retail landscape and asks a practical question for entrepreneurs: is it safer to open a branded franchise, or can an independent supermarket still compete?
South Korea’s fast-growing pet market is expanding beyond food and veterinary care into grooming, accessories, fashion and lifestyle services. As unmanned retail becomes increasingly familiar in Korean cities, small hybrid pet shops combining self-service retail, grooming reservations and smart pickup systems could emerge as a promising new franchise model.
Printing, copying and scanning may sound old, but a self-service print shop can still win by offering instant access when offices, schools and homes do not solve the problem.
This model mixes the familiar need for clothing care with digital ordering, drop-off and pickup, showing how a traditional service can be reorganized around software.
Brands reviewed and added to our directory. A listing is not an endorsement.
