Bang Chae-young (Dept. of International Business, 22) said that she sensed a crisis in the area when a cafe called “Arte,” located directly in front of the middle-gate, shut down followed by a CU convenience store, and when other once busy shops began to close. She added, “Walking through the bar street, now I can see so many vacant units with ‘For Lease’ signs that it feels completely different from when I first enrolled.”

  Bang also pointed out that the rise in vacant units is triggering further changes. “As more unmanned stores open, it feels like many students’ part time jobs have disappeared,” she said. “Existing shops are also cutting working hours instead of hiring new staff, so it is clearly becoming harder than before to balance work and study.”

  This perceived change is also partially reflected in the statistics. According to the Simple Analysis Report published by the Small Enterprise & Market Service in Dec. 2025, the estimated average monthly sales per cafe in Sachang-dong, Cheongju, stood at 11.27 million KRW, down 36% from a year earlier. The number of cafe businesses in the area fell to 30, an 11.8% decrease over the same period. The downward trend appears in other indicators as well. Data from the Korean Statistical Information Service show that the vacancy rate for medium and large scale retail properties by commercial district in Seowon-gu rose from 27.7% in 2024 to 30% in 2025, continuing an upward trajectory. Taken together, shrinking sales, a falling number of businesses, and rising vacancy rates point to a broad based contraction in the local commercial ecosystem.

  Field experts note that the slump in the middle-gate commercial district cannot be explained by an economic downturn alone. They say the way young people consume has changed. Park Guang-seok, an official from the Cheongju City Revitalization Foundation described the CBNU middle-gate area as “Not just a food service cluster, but a district where company dinners, gatherings, and drinking occasions have long played a major role in generating revenue.” Yet, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, group dining trends have weakened and a culture that no longer forces people to drink has taken root, leaving businesses with high dependence on alcohol sales particularly exposed.

  Consumption patterns are also shifting. Instead of the previous pattern of drinking a lot, there is a growing tendency to have just a drink or two but choose something that one prefers. Light alcoholic beverages such as highballs have become popular, making it more common for groups to end their spending after only one or two drinks.

  Kwak Song-hoon (Dept. of English Language and Literature, 24) said, “University drinking culture today is no longer characterized by pressure to drink as it once was. Heavy drinking is also less preferred, so students tend to visit bars less frequently.” He added, “With alcohol prices being relatively high, it makes more sense to have one drink I enjoy rather than several I do not.”

  This has created a structural challenge for bars and eateries in university district whose sales models were built around high volume alcohol consumption.

  The other influence of change in the middle-gate district is the relocation of everyday spending toward spaces inside the campus. Park noted that campus cafeterias have improved quality by introducing catering services and diversifying menus, which has increased usage. With low prices and nutritionally balanced meals, students are increasingly choosing to eat on-campus rather than at off-campus restaurants. At the same time, convenience store ready-to-eat meals are also pointed out as a factor that disperses spending by replacing the cost-effectiveness meal that off-campus restaurants used to provide. 

  A, who currently runs the waffle shop named Single Man Waffle near the CBNU middle-gate, also cited on-campus facilities as a major factor behind the downturn. “It is true that business is always tough during vacations because of reduced foot traffic. However, these days, more shops are closing even in the middle of the semester,” he said. “Restaurants and bars in particular have decreased significantly. With Starbucks and other convenient facilities opening, students can now satisfy most of their needs on campus, which makes it much harder to do business outside the gates.”

  The weakening of the commercial district is also affecting short term and part-time jobs for youth. Park pointed to the spread of kiosks, robot servers, and unmanned cafes as emblematic changes. Because investments in such technologies are directly linked to labor cost savings, they inevitably increase the risk of reduced hiring. As the burden of cost price and fixed costs is rising, shop owners are under pressure to cut expenses, and many are choosing to adjust labor costs before lowering food quality.

  Then, what are the possible solutions? Park stressed that the situation is not unique to CBNU’s middle-gate district, but “A part of a nationwide pattern affecting university districts.” In his view, the most critical baseline is the role of merchants’ associations. Strong merchant organizations can secure government project grants, ensure the stable operation of revitalization programs, and mount joint responses despite frequent openings and closures.

  He also emphasized the need to accurately identify the needs of university students—the core customers of university district—and develop content in cooperation with universities. At the institutional level, the foundation is pursuing phased revitalization through public project bids and step by step management of local commercial districts, citing the case of the Cheongju Yukgeori Night Market as an example of incremental area wide management. Park argued that a data driven diagnosis of local commerce—tracking foot traffic, changes in business types, and sales trends—is essential, and suggested that joint campaigns involving local governments, universities, and merchants such as having lunch in the local commercial district could serve as practical tools for turning the tide.

  Once bustling areas like the CBNU middle-gate district and Seongan-gil, which has functioned as the heart of Cheongju’s commercial district, are gradually losing their vibrancy. The downturn reflects an intricate mix of factors, including changing consumption patterns and shifts in where people choose to spend. In this context, there is a growing need for comprehensive measures to sustain overall Cheongju’s commercial districts and support the livelihoods of small business owners.