Major Business Districts in Seoul, South Korea – GBD

2. Gangnam Business District (GBD)

GBD is the second biggest business district in Seoul, Korea in terms of the gross leasing area of grade A & B office buildings.

Location of GBD in Seoul, Korea

The word ‘Gangnam’ literally means ‘South of River’ indicating southern part of Seoul separated by Han River that runs through the city from east to west. ‘Gangnam’ generally refers to the southeast part of Seoul that accommodates three administrative boroughs(gu) which are Gangnam-gu, Seocho-gu and Songpa-gu.

Lotte Tower in Jamsil, Songpa-gu

GBD had been developed as a new business district of Seoul along the main streets of Gangnam-daero and Teheran-ro in 1970’s. Since the development of Gangnam area was a controlled process by the city, it has an orderly streetscape compared to the CBD of Seoul. Also GBD is famous for its high-end shopping area around Cheongdam-dong and Apgujeong-dong with the flagship stores and premium shops of the most luxurious global fashion brands such as CHANNEL, Burberry, Dior etc.

Air view of GBD in Gangnam-gu

As a business district, what GBD is most differentiated from CBD is the tenant profile of the area. When the top industry types of the tenants in CBD fall in financial and manufacturing sector, GBD shows a strong tenant profile in IT sector. During the mid-90’s and early-2000’s, GBD was developed as an ‘IT venture valley’ and many software and game companies moved in this area especially along Teheran-ro.

Teheran-ro of GBD

Major tenants of GBD: SAMSUNG, POSCO, SM Entertainment, JYP and Korea branch office of Google, eBay, Adobe, Canon, GE, Rolex, Nike, Symantec, PCA Life etc.