"Late Night Canteen" was first derived from the Japanese TV series Late Night Cafeteria. Audiences who have watched the show can feel that although the ingredients in the late-night canteen are homely and the methods are ordinary, they always have a sense of Japanese delicacy.
In contrast, China's late-night canteens, especially those small street shops, are less particular – cookie-cutter plastic benches, small table boards, small signs with yellow characters on a red background... This obviously does not meet the requirements of the city for late-night canteens. To become the "most beautiful table" at night, the late-night canteen must not only be able to provide the enjoyment of food, but also visually provide tourists with the enjoyment of beautiful scenery.
Image source: zh.wikipedia.org
So, where does the sense of sophistication in the late-night canteen come from?
Let's take a look at the Night Owl Night Market in Seoul, South Korea since 2015!
Image source: Korea Tourism Organization
The "Seoul Night Owl Night Market" operates in the style of each region and is held every Friday to Saturday from 18:00 to 24:00 at Yeouido Hangang Park, Panpo Hangang Park, Dongdaemun, Cheonggyecheon, Cultural Reserve Base and other places.
Image credit: 1/6 picture studio
At the night market, Seoul citizens and tourists can taste food from all over the world, as well as enjoy a variety of food trucks, handicrafts, and cultural activities. The reason why the "Night Owl Night Market" can make people want to go is not only because of the food, but also by a series of careful visual design.
Cool and personalized food truck design
The mobile food truck consists of a popular food truck in the Night Owl Night Market and a new food truck looking forward to meeting consumers for the first time.
From the famous celebrity food trucks to the new food trucks, each food truck is equipped with unique colorful graffiti or personalized fun patterns, which has become the target of young people scrambling to take photos and punch cards.
Romantic and vivid decorative pieces
All the shops have also formed a unified fashion trend style, which is in line with Seoul's consistent "youthful and energetic" temperament.
In 2017, the Seoul Night Owl Night Market, themed "Romantic Moonlight Market" in Banpo Hangang Park, specially designed a romantic night view of lights and a fountain that evoked the atmosphere. At the same time, all the merchants were united to design the shops into small yellow tents, which combined with the unique lighting of the scene to form a beautiful landscape in the night of Seoul.
Unify fun dishes and plates
Such a small element of the dish is not spared. As a new district that has been regenerated through urban renewal, the Night Owl Night Market in the cultural reserve base has effectively played the characteristics of the regenerative space, refusing to use disposable tableware in the food truck area, but uniformly using special fashion dishes and dishes designed, so that the small dishes also play a great charm. At the same time, fun dishes washing activities were launched, and the public could enjoy the experience of making natural detergents by hand, leaving more memories.
Stylish and diverse style themes
Each night market in Seoul is designed with many elements based on its own style theme. The "Panpu Romantic Moonlight Night Market" full of romantic art, the young and fashionable "Dongdaemun Youth Show Night Market", the Korean traditional and modern "Cheonggyecheon Time Travel Night Market", which originates from the natural flea market "Outing Night Market in the Jungle of the Cultural Reserve Base", so that everyone can sit on the ground at will, enjoy the food in their hands, and enjoy the visual feast brought by the beautiful night market.
Whether it is the unforgettable non-realistic version of the Japanese drama "Late Night Canteen", or the real-life booming "Night Owl Night Market" in Seoul, the late-night canteen in the city, it is not only the pleasant taste of "A String of Life", but also a delicate design that shows the charm of urban culture. In this way, more people can remember the late-night beauty of the city not only because of the sense of taste, but also because of a sense of urban vision.