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Exhibition to Be Held on October 8-9 at Itaewon World Food Street

On the 8th, at Itaewon World Food Street, photo works by comedian Jo Se-ho, singer Hwang Chan-sung, and singer Lee Sun-hee, as well as paintings by singer Kwon Ji-an (Solbi) and rapper Cheetah, were displayed before the eyes. About 90 works, including those by artists as well as foreigners such as Federico Cuello (Ambassador of the Dominican Republic) and Bruno Figueroa (former Ambassador of Mexico), adorned the street.

The street exhibition, held for two days starting this day, was jointly planned by the Influencer Association and the Itaewon Tourism Special Zone Association. It is part of the ‘Hey, Itaewon Project.’ The project aims to make Itaewon, which suffered the pain of last year’s Halloween tragedy, a ‘street you want to walk again’ while encouraging merchants. About 30 famous celebrities and artists participated in the exhibition on a ‘no guarantee’ basis.

Since the tragedy, the Itaewon commercial district has been in recession. The card sales in the Itaewon 1-dong area, where the accident occurred, in the fourth week of February decreased by 57.1% compared to the fourth week of October last year when the accident happened. The floating population also decreased by 29%. In fact, despite being the Saturday with the highest floating population on the day of the exhibition, a sense of emptiness was felt.

Minister Lee Young of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups also visited the site. Minister Lee said, “I will ensure that today’s event does not end as a one-time event but becomes a nationwide campaign through the Donghaeng Festival in May.” He then held a dinner meeting with merchants on the second floor of the Hamilton Hotel, W179, one of Itaewon’s landmarks. This space, about 100 pyeong in size, was provided free of charge by the Hamilton side for exhibition visitors. A pop-up store by young merchants and a wine market were also held.

At the dinner meeting, Minister Lee proposed a ‘Dinner Challenge,’ saying, “For Itaewon to make a new leap as a tourism special zone, it is possible only when the interest and wishes of many people gather like this.” The challenge is a relay style where the person nominated as a participant posts a certification shot of dining with acquaintances at a restaurant located in Itaewon on Instagram with the hashtag ‘#잇_태원 (#eat_taewon)’ and recommends the next participant.

Merchants of the Itaewon Tourism Special Zone Association said, “Just having domestic and foreign visitors come back to Itaewon and enjoy meals with colleagues and family is a great strength for merchants,” and added, “We hope that the ‘Dinner Challenge,’ started with Minister Lee Young’s innovative idea, spreads widely and becomes an opportunity for Itaewon to grow anew.”

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