Gwangju Launches Consumption Campaign to Revitalize Neighborhood Businesses

City and Public Institutions Launch 'Matching Day' with Traditional Markets and Alleyway Shopping Districts
Over 100 Employees from the Autonomous Administration Bureau Participate in First Restaurant and Shopping Event

About 100 employees from five departments of the Gwangju Metropolitan City Autonomous Administration Bureau held a matching day event on the 4th during lunchtime by visiting restaurants near the city hall for a meal. Photo by Gwangju City

Gwangju City has launched a campaign to boost consumption and revitalize the local alleyway economy, which has been struggling due to reduced consumer spending, in line with the Lee Jaemyung administration's policy to "revitalize neighborhood businesses."

The city is operating the "Traditional Market and Alleyway Shopping District Matching Day" initiative, which aims to breathe new life into the frozen local economy by encouraging shopping at traditional markets and dining at restaurants in alleyway shopping districts.

On July 4, about 100 employees from five departments of the Gwangju Metropolitan City Autonomous Administration Bureau participated in the first Matching Day event, visiting restaurants in alleyway shopping districts such as the Seogu Ssanghak-ro Merchants Association and the 5·18 Meokja Alley Merchants Association for lunch.

Going forward, the city plans to continue encouraging employees to shop at traditional markets and use alleyway shopping districts at least twice a month, aiming to provide tangible sales growth for small business owners and inject vitality into the local economy.

The city is also operating the "Alleyway Economy Situation Room" in coordination with the government's Emergency Economic Inspection Task Force. Together with local public institutions, Gwangju is promoting a consumption campaign through one-on-one matching at 235 business districts, including traditional markets and alleyway shopping districts, encouraging shopping and dining at nearby restaurants.

On July 1, during the "July Regular Meeting," the city marked the third anniversary of the eighth popularly elected administration by supporting increased sales in alleyway businesses, purchasing and providing snacks for employees from 10 traditional markets and alleyway shopping districts across the five autonomous districts.

Since April, the city has also expanded its "good consumption" efforts to boost the economic vitality of small businesses by closing the city hall cafeteria for lunch on the second and fourth Fridays of each month. Previously, the cafeteria was closed twice a week for dinner on Wednesdays (Family Love Day) and Fridays (to revitalize the local economy), but since April, this has been expanded to include lunch closures twice a month.

Jung Wonseok, Director of the Autonomous Administration Bureau, stated, "We will continue to shop at traditional markets every month and regularly use alleyway shopping districts, including restaurants and cafes near Kumho Tire. I hope that these small, everyday actions by public officials will provide real support for the recovery of the local economy."

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