Incheon Jangseungbaegi Traditional Market Street Vendors Relocated After 30 Years... Securing Passageways

Namdong-gu, Incheon announced on the 8th that it has secured a passageway for visitors by relocating street vendors who had long occupied the central aisle of Jangseungbaegi Traditional Market in Mansu-dong.

According to the district, street vendors began to settle in the traditional market (21 Jangseung-ro, Namdong-gu) along with the opening of Jangseungbaegi Traditional Market in the late 1990s, occupying the central aisle for over 30 years.

This caused numerous complaints due to inconvenience in passage, deterioration of the market’s appearance, and lack of secured fire lanes, prompting maintenance efforts that were repeatedly thwarted by strong resistance.

Jangseungbaegi traditional market with secured passageways following the relocation of street vendors. Provided by Namdong-gu, Incheon.

In response, the district linked the project with Incheon City’s early-year Old Downtown Design Revitalization initiative to improve the environment of Jangseungbaegi Traditional Market and relocate the street vendors. Starting in April, after six months of persuasion and dialogue with street vendors and the Jangseungbaegi Traditional Market Merchants Association, an agreement was reached to relocate the street vendors occupying the central aisle.

Subsequently, the district installed floor decking in idle spaces within the market and produced and supported cart-type stalls to relocate the street vendors who had occupied the central aisle. After demolishing existing street stalls and disposing of waste, about 100 meters of the central aisle was repainted, and the old restroom was remodeled to improve the overall user environment.

Park Jong-hyo, the district mayor, said, "Although it was not easy to reach an agreement due to long-term illegal occupation, we were able to persuade the street vendors for securing fire lanes and revitalizing the market. We will continue to strive for residents’ safety and happiness through proactive administration."

Jangseungbaegi Traditional Market was formerly called Changdae Market but was renamed in 2013 after the surrounding street name. Jangseungbaegi refers to the site where jangseung?traditional Korean village guardian posts?stood, serving as protectors of the village since ancient times.

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