"Rice as Content": Jeonju Nambu Market Launches "Ssalgeumeoni" Pop-up

Part of the Centennial Market Development Project
Transforming a Sales-Oriented Traditional Market
into an Experiential Complex Space

The Jeonju Nambu Market, which once dictated the nationwide price trends for rice, is embarking on a new experiment featuring rice as its central theme. This is an attempt to transform the traditional market, which has focused mainly on sales, into a complex space that blends experiences, exhibitions, and gourmet dining.

According to Jeonju city on April 29, the Nambu Market Centennial Market Development Team will operate a native rice pop-up store titled "Ssalgeumeoni: The Ways Native Rice Permeates Our Lives" at the Moijang Pop-up Store Zone from May 1 to May 15. This project was planned as part of the "Nambu Market Content Living Lab Project."

The event has been organized in collaboration with the local brand Maktong Ssal Sanghoe, and its notable feature is the expansion of native rice from a simple ingredient into an experiential content. On-site, over 300 varieties of native rice straw and more than 100 types of native rice will be exhibited, allowing visitors to explore a wide range of varieties in one place.

The event also offers a variety of visitor participation programs, such as "Making a Tiny Rice Field" using recycled PET bottles, "Naming the Rice" where visitors distinguish rice using their senses, and hands-on experiences with mini rice mills. Other offerings include healing-themed table settings, Makgeolli tasting, and brown rice tea gatherings, along with related product sales.

A representative from the Nambu Market Centennial Market Development Team stated, "This will be an opportunity to showcase new possibilities for the market through native rice," adding, "We aim to expand Nambu Market into a hub for local brands with a variety of pop-up content."

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