37 Confident New Leaders of Alleyway Commerce in Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Thirty-seven self-employed individuals who participated in the ‘Sajangnim Academy’ of Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City (District Mayor Kim Samho) completed over two months of training and have been reborn as leaders of the neighborhood commercial district.

Gwangsan-gu announced on the 17th that it held the ‘Sajangnim Academy 3rd Graduation Ceremony.’

This year’s Sajangnim Academy was conducted over eight weeks from the end of April with lectures by Kim Yujin, a dining industry consultant and author of ‘The God of Korean-style Business.’

The academy provided practical and customized education including ▲16 strategies to increase sales ▲10 strategies to maximize profit margins ▲irreplaceable promotional marketing strategies, along with hands-on training in online marketing strategies such as using portal site services, SNS promotion, video production, and QR code creation.

In addition to regular classes, real-time coaching and sharing of implementation results among graduates were conducted via mobile messenger.

The public special lecture held on the 3rd under the theme ‘Your Price is Wrong’ was simultaneously broadcast live on YouTube, attracting a total of 539 participants and drawing attention.

After completing all the training and earning the official title of ‘Gwangsan God of Business,’ the graduates planned the graduation ceremony themselves and presented plaques of appreciation to Gwangsan District Mayor Kim Samho and lecturer Kim Yujin.

Ryu Taehyung, the representative of the graduates, said, “I applied to the academy to revive the store atmosphere that had been depressed due to COVID-19, and by completing weekly assignments, I was able to take on new challenges and attempts,” adding, “I want to revitalize the neighborhood commercial district based on what I have learned.”

The Sajangnim Academy, which Gwangsan-gu has been promoting since 2019 to enhance the business capabilities of small business owners and self-employed individuals, concluded with this 3rd term.

Over the past three years, Gwangsan-gu has nurtured a total of 100 ‘Gwangsan Gods of Business’ and plans to focus more on revitalizing neighborhood commercial districts by leveraging them as a ‘support force.’

To improve the overall capabilities of the commercial district centered on the graduates, initiatives such as industry-specific ‘One Table Mentoring Camps’ and mentor-mentee store cross-visits will be promoted.

An academy activity casebook will also be produced to share the participants’ transformation process and acquired business know-how with citizens.

Mayor Kim of Gwangsan-gu said, “We will continue to support the academy graduates, who have become stronger through practical learning, so that they can return to the neighborhood commercial districts, revitalize the commercial areas, and become key players in boosting the local economy.”

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