It is said that when Lotte left the current Lotte World Tower site as an empty lot for decades without doing anything, merchants who were driven out of Seokchon Lake opened a pocha shop in the empty lot, creating Jamsil Pocha Village, and at some point, it became a huge pocha village.
Thanks to its low price, it was a famous hot spot for youth in the 2000s and was said to be a mecca for hunting.
The problem was that, as it was an illegal business, it was in a blind spot of the law, so gas and electric cables got tangled up and safety rules were not followed at all. So much so that it was said to be a miracle that there was no major fire. Hygiene rules were also the same, and it was also an area where minors drank.
Electricity was illegally supplied from Jamsil Station by Seoul Metro (currently Seoul Catholic Church) at the time… .
It became a topic of social controversy in 2009 when Lotte asked everyone to leave because it would build a tower. At that time, there was quite a bit of public opinion saying, ‘Let’s protect the memories of Jamsil Pocha, and large corporations are trying to chase out poor merchants.’
The two sides’ positions were running parallel, with merchants demanding Lotte’s right to operate a restaurant in the basement of the tower. However, it was agreed that the merchants would run the Hamba restaurant under construction for the tower, and it would be demolished.