There's a neighbourhood, in Seoul, called Bukchon. Traditional and small-towny in a city of tens of millions, it's familiar to Instagrammers worldwide.

Bukchon has many charms. There are windy hill roads and villas for which the term leafy has, undoubtedly, been coined. Ambassadors here rub elbows with Korea's rich and powerful.

Its main charm, however, are the roads where traditional Korean houses have weathered years of harsh climate, a few major conflicts and an exponential economic growth. The handful of hanok, as they are called, are indeed cherished by anyone with a selfie stick and a social media account, and why blame them? They're gorgeous.

The roads immediately east or west of those oh-so-Instagrammable alleys are normally left alone by tourists. Much in the same way that the least trodden path is the one where porcini mushrooms can be found, those streets have charms aplenty. And it's all down to those who, in a deliberate if awkward reference to Shakespeare, I've decided to call The Merry Shopkeepers of Bukchon. Confused? Scroll down.

Every house has a shop, every shop is individually owned, and every owner has his or her photo proudly displayed outside. In elegant black-and-white tones, printed large or small on strong, sturdy canvas, they smile - or even laugh heartily - to the world, beckoning it in.

The gulf from London, where finding a business not part of a franchise or chain is as rare as teeth in a hen's beak, is gigantic and the attitude wholly refreshing. I find myself more inclined to stay here and to give my business to such smiley folks. Even when they just offer their backs.

It's incredible, the difference a laughing person can make.

Or even a smiling one.

Who could be behind such an elegant campaign? Whose idea was it to turn these rather nondescript streets, these - let's say it - normal shops into something one would love to stop at, visit and, perhaps, buy from?

There is a photographer's studio on one of the streets: it's undoubtedly the epicentre, as more portraits and photos testimony. Yet, most of our questions remain unanswered. And perhaps it's better like this: at the end of the day, I don't need to know the details; I'm perfectly content not to know. For me, Bukchon will forever be the borough of the Merry Shopkeepers.