Jung-gu, Weekly Street Cleaning Days on Tuesdays and Fridays at Hwanghak Market Pork Byproduct Alley

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Jung-gu, Seoul (Mayor Seoyangho) announced that it will join merchants every Tuesday and Friday to eradicate the foul odor in the pork by-products alley of Hwanghak Market.

The pork by-products alley in Hwanghak Market is where more than 70% of domestic pork by-products such as gopchang (intestines) and sundae (blood sausage) are produced. It is a place where the problems of 'foul odor' and 'environmental pollution' caused by waste fat and blood water generated during processing and transportation persist.

Accordingly, the district regularly conducts water cleaning twice a week with merchants to reduce the odor and has maintained waste storage warehouses and drainage facilities. In addition, it frequently inspects whether collection and transportation companies leak wastewater and has produced and supported 44 handcarts to prevent leakage of by-product contaminated water, addressing the issue from multiple angles.

To solve the odor problem in the pork by-products alley, which becomes more severe in the summer when the heat intensifies, Mayor Seoyangho of Jung-gu cleaned the alley with merchants. On the 1st, marking his 3rd anniversary in office, he volunteered to clean Hwanghak Market, expressing his commitment for the remaining term and communication with merchants.

The alley, about 250 meters long, is lined with pork by-products shops in Hwanghak Market. After moving piled-up items and two-wheeled vehicles, the high-pressure water sprayer attached to the rear of a vehicle was operated to start cleaning. Having cleaned the market several times before, using the high-pressure sprayer was now a piece of cake for Mayor Seo. He finished by sweeping every corner of the alley with merchants.

After cleaning, a meeting was held with merchants at the Hwanghak Market Merchants Association office. Mayor Seo expressed his gratitude with a shy smile upon receiving an unexpected congratulatory bouquet for his 3rd anniversary from the association president. Kim Sun-tae, president of the Hwanghak Market Merchants Association, said, "Thanks to the mayor, this alley has become noticeably cleaner," expressing greater appreciation.

So far, the district has enhanced the competitiveness of the market through large-scale environmental improvements such as installing nightscape lighting and creating customer convenience spaces to revitalize the commercial area around Sinjungang Market in Hwanghak-dong, Seoul Central Market, Hwanghak Market, and the kitchen furniture street shopping district. The Hwanghak commercial area, which has completely changed from foul odor to scenery, now offers a pleasant environment where young merchants have newly settled despite the difficulties of COVID-19. As a result, the number of young people visiting traditional markets has increased, changing the atmosphere.

Mayor Seoyangho of Jung-gu said, "Seoul Central Market and nearby commercial areas, which flourished as one of Seoul's three major markets along with Dongdaemun and Namdaemun in the 1960s, had a strong image of being outdated markets, but they are now changing," adding, "We will do our best to create a commercial area that anyone can use comfortably, including connecting Sindang Station and the underground shopping mall and creating public parking lots."

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