Dongmyo, Hongdae used clothing sales 'halved' due to bedbug spread

As bedbugs can be transmitted through clothes and bags, more people are avoiding buying used clothes. Dongmyo Market in Jongno-gu and Hongdae Street in Mapo-gu, Seoul, have been hit hard, and secondhand clothing stores are mobilizing steamers and other measures to help boost sales.

The Dong-A Ilbo team visited Dongmyo Market and Hongdae Street on November 8, 14, and 15 where many secondhand clothing stores are located.

"We usually get more customers when the weather gets cold,” said Park Min-ji (21), an employee at a used clothing store in Dongmyo Market. “But even though the temperature has dropped significantly recently, we have had about 30 percent fewer customers compared to two weeks ago."

The situation was the same on Hongdae Street. "Compared to three weeks ago, our sales have halved," said Park Jun-seo (30), a secondhand clothing store owner. "I'm taking care of my clothes for sale with a steam iron more thoroughly than usual, thinking that if bedbugs appear, it's over."

People who usually buy used clothes and bags are also refraining from spending due to ‘bedbug phobia.’ "I usually buy more than 200,000 won (150 US dollars) worth of secondhand clothes every month, but I have refrained from doing so since I saw the bedbug news late last month," said Cho Jang-ho (27), an office worker. "Secondhand clothes are vulnerable to bedbugs because their source is unclear and there are many places where they are stacked to be sold."

The ‘bedbug phobia’ has been intensified by the recent surge in bedbug outbreaks across the country. According to the Office of Government Policy Coordination at the Prime Minister’s office, 155 reports of bed bug outbreaks were received by authorities nationwide from November 6-12, with 41 cases actually confirmed as bedbugs across the country.


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