Jongno-gu Supports Artterior for Local Neighborhood Stores

Design Improvements for Dongdaemun Shoe Market Buildings A and B... Utilizing Young Artists' Talents to Enhance Small Business Store Designs

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Jongno-gu (Mayor Kim Young-jong) promoted the 'Our Neighborhood Store Artterior Support Project' from October to December last year, improving the design of stores adjacent to the Cheonggyecheon road in the old Dongdaemun Shoe Market A and B buildings in the city center.

The 'Our Neighborhood Store Artterior Project' is a project to enhance the competitiveness of small business owners by utilizing the talents of young artists to support the design improvement of small business stores, and Jongno-gu was the first basic local government to carry it out.

To promote the project, the district secured a budget of about 150 million KRW and selected young artists and cultural and artistic social enterprises.

Additionally, 50 stores in Dongdaemun Shoe Market A and B buildings were selected to participate in the project, and up to 1 million KRW was provided for design improvement costs.

The district completely replaced the old and worn-out store awnings, giving them a neat and clean transformation, and the 14 young artists who participated in this project improved the interior and exterior environments of each store.

The district and the young artists visited the sites multiple times to revitalize the old and characterless stores and to help the stagnant market make a fresh start, continuously exchanging opinions with merchants and exploring various methods.

Sympathizing with the purpose of improving the environment of small business stores, the young artists actively participated in this project, applying designs with unique store characteristics to ▲signboards ▲display stands ▲information boards ▲props ▲security shutters.

Going forward, the district plans to attach design patterns with a Velcro method to the sunshade installed in Dongdaemun Shoe Market A building, allowing the shoe market’s symbol and characteristics to be recognized at a glance and also serving as signboards for individual stores that are hard to see.

Mayor Kim Young-jong said, “This project was very meaningful as it improved the environment of small business stores by utilizing the talents of young artists. We will seek various support measures that the district can provide to help small business owners who are working hard despite the difficult economy.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.