Gokseong Ttukbang Market Selected for Local Branding Project

Published 31 May.2023 14:21(KST)

Flea Market Created by Renovating Neglected Riverbanks

Providing Tourists with Opportunities to Enjoy Art and Culture

Gokseong-gun, Jeollanam-do (Governor Lee Sang-cheol) announced on the 30th that it has been selected for the 2023 ‘Local Branding Activation Support Project at the Living Area Unit’ hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

The ‘Local Branding Project,’ implemented for the first time this year, is a project that enhances the competitiveness of living areas by utilizing unique local resources and characteristics to create regions where residents want to live and tourists want to visit.

[Photo by Gokseong-gun]

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety will provide 300 million KRW in special grants to the selected local governments in the first year.

In the second year, additional project funds will be supported to ensure that branding with distinctiveness and competitiveness is firmly established in each local government.

Gokseong-gun was finally selected for the local branding project under the theme ‘Giving Wings to Ttukbang Market.’

Ttukbang Market is a flea market created in 2016 by renovating an abandoned riverbank near the Seomjingang Train Village.

It has been held every Saturday for 143 sessions so far and is growing into a new tourist attraction in Gokseong-gun.

More than 60 teams of sellers from all over the country participate in Ttukbang Market each time.

By exhibiting and selling various handicrafts, it provides opportunities for art and cultural enjoyment not only to the residents of Gokseong-gun but also to tourists.

Starting with Ttukbang Market, a young and middle-aged population has begun startups in the downtown area of Gokseong-eup and settled in Gokseong-gun, leading to the creation of a Romantic Workshop Street utilizing vacant commercial spaces.

Accordingly, local artists are discovering the value of Ttukbang Market through various activities and changes by exhibiting their works in the street gallery.

Through this local branding project, Gokseong-gun plans to expand Ttukbang Market by utilizing vacant commercial spaces. Integrated guide signs serving as way-finding connecting major tourist spots such as the train station, Train Village, Ttukbang Market, and traditional markets will be installed.

In addition, a natural ecological rest area that preserves the beautiful natural scenery along the Gokseong Stream will be established around Ttukbang Market, and nighttime scenery will be created to expand convenience facilities for users.

A Gokseong-gun official said, “Thanks to continuous communication and idea meetings with the Traditional Market Merchants Association and the Ttukbang Market Cooperative, we were able to be selected for the project. In the future, we will utilize Ttukbang Market as a space that converges with local creators and make it a place where everyone wants to come.”