Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju 'Golmok Sangkwon' Selected as Smart Pilot Store for 2 Consecutive Years

Two Locations Including Suwan District Interchange and Eoryong-dong... Secured 750 Million KRW in Project Funds

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City (District Mayor Kim Samho) announced on the 8th that the Suwan District Interchange Shopping Area and Eoryong-dong Shopping Area have been selected for the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' Smart Pilot Shopping Area contest project, securing a total project budget of 750 million KRW.

The Smart Pilot Shopping Area contest project by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, promoted for the second time this year following last year, aims to digitalize small business sites using Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Internet of Things (IoT), in response to the non-face-to-face and digital-centered changes caused by COVID-19.

Gwangsan-gu, as a result of efforts to strengthen and organize small business capabilities, had two shopping areas selected this year following Seonun District Shopping Area and Hanam 2 District Shopping Area last year.

Through the contest selection, Suwan Interchange Shopping Area (Chairman Song Sunho) will apply smart technologies (kiosks, serving robots, smart menu boards, etc.) to 50 stores, including two digital signages, and establish a smart order system enabling reservation, ordering, and payment via mobile devices in 30 stores.

Eoryong-dong Shopping Area (Chairman Kim Beomju) also plans to enhance the competitiveness of 40 stores using smart technologies.

Song Sunho, Chairman of the Suwan Interchange Shopping Area Merchants' Association, stated, "With the establishment of smart stores, we will rise as the representative commercial district of Gwangsan-gu, young and full of vitality."

Kim Samho, Mayor of Gwangsan-gu, said, "Digital Transformation is an unavoidable task even for neighborhood commercial districts," and added, "We will continue to do our best to prepare new growth engines for the local economy in the post-COVID era."

Meanwhile, Seonun District Shopping Area and Hanam 2 District Shopping Area, designated last year as the first smart pilot shopping areas in the Gwangju region, invested 350 million KRW to establish smart mirrors using VR and AR, and non-face-to-face payment system kiosks in a total of 89 stores.

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