Food Desert

Editor's NoteHave you ever found grocery shopping difficult? In an era where you can buy the food you need anytime, both online and offline, it may seem unimaginable, but there are still places in South Korea where there are no supermarkets within walking distance, and even delivery services do not reach. In these areas, it is hard to obtain food, and such places are called "food deserts," akin to searching for an oasis in a desert. Food deserts are expanding due to factors such as an aging population, regional depopulation, and the digital divide. We aim to explore the problems that inconvenience in everyday grocery shopping can cause and reflect on them together. "It may be hard to understand in Seoul, but there are places in South Korea where only two buses run a day. Watching elderly residents wait endlessly for a bus while carrying heavy groceries after shopping, it feels like grocery shopping is practically a struggle for survival." - Cho Wonji, Senior Research Fellow at the Jeon

Editor's NoteHave you ever found grocery shopping difficult? In an era where you can purchase any food you need online or offline at any time, this might seem unimaginable. However, in South Korea, there are regions where there is no supermarket within walking distance, and even delivery services do not reach, making it difficult to obtain food. These areas, where buying food is as challenging as finding an oasis in the desert, are called "food deserts." Food deserts are expanding due to factors such as an aging population, regional decline, and the digital divide. We aim to examine how the inconvenience of everyday grocery shopping is creating problems and to consider these issues together. Major countries such as the United States and Japan, which established the concept of food deserts earlier than South Korea, are addressing food access issues by building public-private cooperative systems based on government policies. Their top priority is to create an environment where local gove

Editor's NoteHave you ever found grocery shopping difficult? In an era where you can buy whatever food you need anytime, both online and offline, it may seem unimaginable. However, there are regions in South Korea where there are no supermarkets within walking distance, and even delivery services do not reach, making it hard to obtain food. These areas, where buying food is as difficult as finding an oasis in a desert, are called "food deserts." Food deserts are expanding due to factors such as an aging population, rural depopulation, and information gaps. We aim to explore the daily inconveniences caused by grocery shopping difficulties and consider the broader issues together. Mobile markets that regularly circulate in food desert areas are emerging as a solution to improve consumer access to groceries. However, operators report that it is difficult to avoid operating losses. Since these markets serve areas with small populations, it is hard to generate profits, and there are no rele

Editor's NoteHave you ever found grocery shopping difficult? In an era where you can buy any food you need online or offline at any time, it may seem unimaginable. Yet, there are places in South Korea where there is no supermarket within walking distance and even delivery services do not reach, making it hard to access food. These areas are called "food deserts," where finding food is as difficult as finding an oasis in the desert. Food deserts are expanding due to aging populations, the decline of rural areas, and the digital divide. We aim to examine the challenges that inconvenience in daily grocery shopping creates, and to reflect on possible solutions together. Dogok-ri, Hapdeok-eup, Dangjin-si, Chungcheongnam-do, has been classified as a food desert. There are only two ways for elderly residents here to safely shop for groceries: either a supermarket opens nearby, or more transportation options become available. In response, Dangjin City applied for Dogok-ri to be selected as a

Editor's NoteHave you ever found grocery shopping difficult? In an era where you can buy any food you need online or offline at any time, it's almost unimaginable. However, in South Korea, there are areas where there is no supermarket within walking distance, and even delivery services do not reach, making it difficult to obtain food. These places, where buying food is as hard as finding an oasis in a desert, are called "food deserts." Food deserts are expanding due to aging populations, regional decline, and information gaps. We aim to examine the problems caused by the everyday inconvenience of grocery shopping and to reflect on these issues together. A "food desert" refers to an area where, due to factors such as population decline, grocery stores have closed, making it difficult for residents to purchase fresh food. Food deserts emerge at the intersection of various asymmetrical issues, such as the urban-rural divide, income disparity, and information gaps. If these inequality iss

Editor's NoteHave you ever found grocery shopping difficult? In an era where it seems unimaginable not to be able to buy the food you need anytime, either online or offline, there are still areas in South Korea where there is no supermarket within walking distance and not even delivery services are available, making it hard to obtain food. These places, where finding food is as difficult as finding an oasis in the desert, are called "food deserts." Food deserts are expanding due to aging populations, the decline of rural areas, and the digital divide. We aim to examine what problems arise from the everyday inconvenience of grocery shopping and to reflect on them together. 'There are no stores matching your selected criteria. Please try different options.' When entering "46 Dogok-gil, Hapdeok-eup, Dangjin-si, Chungcheongnam-do, Dogok-ri Village Hall" into a delivery application, a message appeared stating that there were no available stores for delivery. Changing the category to Chines