Gyeonggi-do Supports 'Customized Prescriptions to Revitalize Alleyway Commercial Districts'

Up to 1 Billion KRW per Location in Three Business Sectors

Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

[Asia Economy Reporter La Young-cheol] Gyeonggi Province is launching a support project to revitalize alleyway commercial districts within the province, including old shopping streets in old downtown areas and restored clean valley zones.

On the 11th, the province announced that it will promote the "'2022 Gyeonggi Province Alleyway Commercial District Specialization Support Project" and recruit commercial districts wishing to participate.

The support areas include the 'Hope Commercial District Project,' 'Clean Valley Commercial District Revitalization,' and 'Old Shopping Street Revitalization.' One commercial district will be selected in each category, with a total project budget of 3 billion KRW, investing 1 billion KRW per district.

The 'Hope Commercial District Project' targets commercial districts facing crises such as population decline, providing commercial district diagnosis, consulting, management innovation education, joint marketing, and facility improvements to devise tailored solutions.

'Clean Valley Commercial District Revitalization' offers customized comprehensive support to valley commercial districts where clean valley restoration projects have been implemented, including the creation of convenience facilities, store environment improvements, and introduction of themed programs, aiming to establish leisure culture-centered commercial districts.

Through 'Old Shopping Street Revitalization,' the focus is on breathing new life into old shopping streets that have been established for over 20 years by improving the environment, revitalizing the commercial district (joint marketing, etc.), and supporting the formation of regional win-win councils.

The support targets alleyway commercial districts within the province that have already organized or are planning to organize merchant associations. The province will recruit participating commercial districts through each city and county until the 27th, and after document review and on-site evaluation, the recipients will be selected next month.

This project aims to revive alleyway commercial districts through tailored support at the provincial level, considering the difficulty small business owners face in overcoming the current situation caused by COVID-19 solely with their own capabilities.

Meanwhile, since 2019, the province has been promoting the alleyway commercial district specialization support project, laying the groundwork for regional economic revitalization through customized prescriptions for each commercial district.

A representative case is the shopping street in Beopwon-eup, Paju, which was severely depressed due to the withdrawal of the U.S. military base. It was selected for the 'Old Shopping Street Revitalization' project in 2020 and became an opportunity to transform into a specialty street for jangdan soybean tofu.

The Hwadoong-ro shopping street in Ildong, Pocheon, was selected for the Hope Commercial District Project in 2019, strengthening its self-sustainability, and the Baegun Valley commercial district in Pocheon has become a new local attraction after the clean valley restoration.

Jo Jang-seok, Director of Small Business Support Division, said, "Through customized specialization support at the commercial district level, we will revitalize the alley economy, which is a pillar of our economy alongside traditional markets, and create a virtuous economic cycle structure where merchants can sustain themselves."

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