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As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, areas once filled with tourists are now far emptier.
South Korea's once bustling shopping street, Myeongdong, is no exception.
Facebook page Koreathai shared a series of photos of Myeongdong on Mar. 5, which showed emptier streets and shuttered shops in black and white photos.
Stores that appear to be unoccupied were marked with a red X by the page. Fewer people were seen on the streets in these photos.
Photo via Koreathai on Facebook
Photo via Koreathai on Facebook
Photo via Koreathai on Facebook
Photo via Koreathai on Facebook
Photo via Koreathai on Facebook
Photo via Koreathai on Facebook
Photo via Koreathai on Facebook
The Covid-19 pandemic resulted in a rapid decline in the number of foreign tourists visiting Myeongdong and a "serious recession" in the district.
Uniqlo's four-storey flagship store at Myeongdong was forced to close on Feb. 1, 2021 after 10 years of operations, partly due to the pandemic, Business Korea reported.
What Myeongdong looked like
In response to the post, several Facebook users expressed sadness and shared their own photos of what Myeongdong looked like before the pandemic hit.
Photo via Robin Calderon Reyrata
Photo via Stella Khaw
Evening walk at Myeongdong
YouTube channel 4K Korea, who took an evening walk at Myeongdong in Feb. 2021, also shared a video of the scene.
Here are some snippets from the video which show visibly emptier streets as well.
Photo via 4K Korea on YouTube
Photo via 4K Korea on YouTube
Photo via 4K Korea on YouTube
Another YouTube video that was shared in Jan. 2021 also showed the same observation.
Photo via Korea Reomit
Top photos via Koreathai on Facebook