**Experts in Academia, Tourism, Gastronomy, and Business Districts Present on Four Themes**
[Herald Economy, Reporter Son In-Kyu] Seoul’s Jung-gu District (District Mayor Kim Gil-Sung) announced that on the 27th, it hosted a forum titled “A New Story of Our Market” at the Sindang Nuri Center in order to revitalize traditional markets and local business districts.
The forum was organized by “Seoul Jung-gu Business District Development Center,” the nation’s first business district management organization led by merchants from Jung-gu’s traditional markets. Experts in academia, tourism, gastronomy, and business districts, along with local merchants and residents, gathered to explore the changes and development directions for traditional markets.
Jung-gu has 49 traditional markets, accounting for 15% of the entire market in Seoul, making it the largest scale among basic local governments nationwide. The district sought solutions to transform traditional markets into iconic sites in Seoul where tourism, culture, and economy converge amid rapidly changing distribution environments and consumption patterns.
Mayor Kim stated, “Traditional markets are the center of local culture and economy,” emphasizing that Jung-gu is providing various support such as facility and management modernization, installation of safety facilities, and public projects to make traditional markets landmarks.
Four experts gave presentations. The first presentation was by Oh Young-ho, a senior expert at the Hansik Foundation, who discussed “Reviving Tourism-Oriented Traditional Markets.” He stressed the importance of integrating traditional markets with culinary tourism to transform them into sustainable business districts. He proposed market-specific branding, goods development, new menu creation, storytelling and food tourism connections, and operating street food zones.
Following this, Hwang Jong-hwan, chairman of the Knowledge Sharing and Coexistence Network, presented on “Business District Festival and Event Direction Aligned with Changing Consumer Trends.” He emphasized that the ultimate goal of business district festivals is the voluntary interaction between merchants and residents to achieve sustainable business district activation. He advocated for hosting festivals in collaboration with external organizations to ensure both diversity and efficiency.
After each presentation, a discussion with expert panels took place. The panels shared various opinions on developing differentiated content reflecting unique characteristics of individual business districts, the importance of specialized educational institutions for merchants, and establishing governance for regional economic development.
Mayor Kim concluded, “We will actively incorporate the various opinions shared today to transform Jung-gu’s traditional markets into places everyone wants to visit.” He added, “We will join forces with merchants, residents, and experts to make Jung-gu a successful example of traditional market coexistence and development.”