[Insta Walk] A Neighborhood Supermarket Close to Life with Brunch and Coffee

Household Goods Curated Shop Founded in 2014
Word of Mouth Leads to 2nd Branch in Front of Itaewon Complex

Restaurant + Supermarket + Bakery Coexist
Fulfilling Neighborhood Residents' Needs

Considering Ways to Reduce Disposable Waste
Refund Given When Using Tumblers and Side Dish Containers

Bomarket Branch 2 in front of Itaewon, Yongsan-gu, Seoul / Photo by Juhyung Lim @skepped

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] The term 'supermarket' originally refers to a large discount store in English. The first supermarket in Korea is considered to be 'New Seoul Supermarket,' established in 1968 in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. It was a store with a total of 12 floors, including basement and above ground levels.

However, over time, the meaning of supermarket in Korea has changed. The name began to be attached to small shops occupying a corner of apartment complexes or residential neighborhoods. Now, we call these kinds of stores 'super' for short.

Supers have become one of the spaces most closely connected to the lives of Koreans, with one or two appearing inevitably near residential areas. Many are built within 50 to 100 steps from homes and handle products necessary for daily life, ranging from various household goods to food ingredients and ready-to-eat meals. They are truly 'life-close spaces.'

'BOMarket,' located in front of Itaewon Jugong Apartment Complex in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, was born in 2014 with the goal of becoming a life-close curated shop. What started as a small store in Hannam-dong Namsan Mansion has now grown enough to open a second branch in Itaewon and is recognized as a comprehensive household goods supermarket. It is a unique retail space frequently featured in social media (SNS) posts.

The reason CEO Yoo Bora established BOMarket is surprisingly simple. Working as an automotive user experience (UX) designer, she wanted to create an environment where people could obtain household goods without having to drive outside their homes. This thought led to the opening of BOMarket's first store. As she gained business experience and a broader understanding of people's diverse needs, she decided to bring in unique products beyond just household goods.

Eco-friendly products such as wool and soap sold at Bo Market / Photo by Juhyung Lim @skepped

CEO Yoo explained, "When I was young, I occasionally visited a 'Mije Market' with my parents. It was a supermarket selling products imported from the U.S., and I was always attracted by the smells and colors of the products there. The first BOMarket was influenced by those memories."

Thanks to the unique household goods and food ingredients personally selected by CEO Yoo, BOMarket quickly grew through word of mouth and opened a second branch in front of Itaewon Jugong Apartment Complex. Unlike the first store, which had a strong shop-like character, the second branch pursues a 'complex living space.' Inside the store, which was created by remodeling a warehouse in a vacant lot near the apartment, coexist a restaurant serving brunch and coffee, a supermarket, and a bakery. This clearly shows that the store has grown by purely fulfilling the needs of local residents.

For example, there are quite a few dog owners who walk their pets near the apartment. So, a space was created where dog owners can take a short rest during their walks. This is also the reason why pet food for dogs is stocked. As the range of products gradually expanded in this way, BOMarket has become a bustling space where customers with various needs gather together.

CEO Yoo said, "When people think of a supermarket, they usually imagine a store that handles various items necessary for daily life," but added, "The life-close curated shop I envision is a supermarket that makes people's lives more relaxed and beautiful."

She listed three criteria for elements that make life beautiful. "First, it must be practically useful in life; second, it should be aesthetically beautiful; and lastly, it must have meaning," she emphasized, "I carefully select and sell products based on these criteria."

Overseas household items and wines carefully selected by Yubora Bo Market CEO are displayed. / Photo by Juhyung Lim @skepped

Currently, CEO Yoo is putting the most effort into the aspect of 'meaning.' In particular, she sees building an environmentally friendly business environment as the most 'meaningful' action. She said, "One of the biggest concerns in recent operations is the large amount of disposable waste such as plastic. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, our company has also been promoting delivery services, which seems to increase disposable waste output, so we are thinking about ways to reduce it."

As part of this, they have been gradually implementing small measures such as refunding part of the amount to customers who bring their own tumblers or lunch boxes to reduce packaging waste within the store, and replacing some plastic products with paper. CEO Yoo said, "Honestly, for a small business like ours, refunding 500 or 1000 won is not a trivial cost," but she showed strong determination by saying, "We need to establish a clear meaning of what kind of business we want to be first, and then move forward to ensure a more sustainable future."

Curious about what kind of identity the space will grow into in the future, CEO Yoo emphasized 'coexistence with the community,' saying, "BOMarket was able to grow thanks to the enthusiastic support and love of local residents." She explained, "We have no intention of competing with other supermarkets in the neighborhood, so we deliberately do not stock items that overlap with general supermarkets. Rather than expanding the business aggressively, our current goal is to maintain it as a meaningful space for the people living nearby so that it can be sustainable."

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