Gokseong Ttukbang Market Closing... See You Safely Again Next Year

Train Party Ddukbbang Market! Successful Conclusion and Promise for Next Year

[Gokseong=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Chunsu] Gokseong-gun, Jeollanam-do announced on the 7th that the representative Jeonnam flea market, Gichadang Ttukbang Market, safely concluded this year's event last November and promised to return next year.

Since its first opening in May 2016, Gichadang Ttukbang Market has surpassed its fifth year, firmly establishing itself as the representative cultural market of the Honam region beyond the local area, with beautiful scenery full of leisure, unique handicrafts, local foods rich in regional characteristics, and various cultural performances.

In 2020, a socially unstable year due to COVID-19, the market welcomed its first visitors on May 10 under strict quarantine measures while adhering to safety guidelines. The most effort by Gokseong-gun and the Gichadang Ttukbang Market Cooperative was focused on thorough disinfection.

▲Disinfection before and after the event ▲Deployment of quarantine personnel at main entrances ▲Wearing masks ▲Temperature checks ▲Maintaining a 2-meter distance, etc., were strictly followed to control the entry of sellers and visitors and avoid crowding, operating a ‘safe market harmonizing quarantine and daily life’ to revitalize the local atmosphere and economy.

Although the opening was at 60% compared to the previous year, the Ttukbang Market Cooperative (Chairman Im Wonja) held 16 events, attracting about 25,000 visitors and achieving sales of 236,318,000 KRW. Despite fewer visitors due to COVID-19, sales increased by 30% compared to the previous year.

The elevated status of Ttukbang Market led to an increase in new sellers, a result of the synergy created by the efforts of the county, cooperative, and sellers to discover diverse and competitive products.

At Gichadang Ttukbang Market, a fluttering yellow tunnel welcomes guests. Before the 2020 Ttukbang Market opening, the cooperative planted cosmos flowers along the nearby stream path. The flower language of cosmos is ‘refreshing feeling.’ In difficult and challenging times due to COVID-19, members and sellers participated with the hope of gifting all visitors a refreshing feeling filled with hope.

Ttukbang Market is growing as a local vitality maker, filled with the laughter of visitors alongside beautiful scenery and the efforts of many people. Over five years, more than 190,000 visitors and sales exceeding 900 million KRW have proven this numerically.

The biggest events of the 2020 Ttukbang Market were the ‘Life of Dogs Sculpture Exhibition’ held with Crown Haitai and the ‘Ttukbang Garden’ created in September. The ‘Life of Dogs Sculpture Exhibition’ transformed the Gokseongcheon area into an outdoor sculpture park blending nature and art, offering a unique cultural experience to Gokseong residents and visitors. At ‘Ttukbang Garden,’ various collaborations with institutions and organizations took place, including the ‘Ttukbang World Culture Festival’ with multicultural families, lifelong learning programs, ‘Ttukbang Radio,’ and performances by the Jeonnam Cultural Foundation’s Artfor.

Going forward, Ttukbang Garden will continue to serve as a cultural market shared by locals and visitors, connected to the surrounding Gokseongcheon, hosting various events, performances, and programs, as well as providing a sand playground for children and a family rest area.

The Ttukbang Market Cooperative is also doing its best to strengthen seller capabilities and link with the local community to secure self-sustainability. Weekly meetings gather sellers’ opinions, benchmarking advanced sites, seller workshops, and new seller education in collaboration with Jeonnam Science University. The two institutions (Jeonnam Science University ↔ Gichadang Ttukbang Market Cooperative) signed an MOU on November 26 and plan to develop professional and detailed educational programs starting next year.

They also promoted a public contest project with the Gokseong Office of Education, operating Ttukbang village schools and after-school programs to communicate with children, and provided scholarships to local youth. By now, the eighth seller has started a business locally.

The driving force behind the success of the originally small rural Ttukbang Market becoming Jeonnam’s representative flea market was the rapid implementation of ideas and continuous improvement through the lean startup method adopted by the county and cooperative. Encouraged by these achievements, Ttukbang Market continues to seek development plans.

The ‘Shared Market,’ serving as a pop-up store for local farms, strengthens the identity of Gokseong Ttukbang Market by branding representative agricultural products. Representative products include ▲Gokseong apples ▲taro ▲Baeksemi rice.

In 2021, through the Tourism Dure contest project, they plan to develop and showcase prototypes and food products branded with the Ttukbang Market BI. They also aim to expand visitor-oriented convenience facilities and photo zones through service design projects, fulfilling visitors’ desires with a charming space full of taste and style.

Customers who visit Ttukbang Market once feel a continuous attraction to return. A visitor from Jeonju on a warm autumn day in October expressed gratitude, saying it was a space where those suffering from staying home during the COVID era could breathe freely in beautiful natural surroundings and achieve small but certain happiness.

A tourist from Goheung participates as a seller because they like Ttukbang. A Gokseong Ttukbang Market official expressed gratitude to visitors and sellers who showed great interest and love this year and encouraged anyone to bring their handmade products and knock on the Ttukbang Market door anytime, as it is an open space for all.

The Ttukbang Market, which came to us like a welcome gift every Saturday, will enter a break period until February next year. During the break, the market will prepare diligently and return next year as a safe and refined market harmonizing daily life and quarantine.

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