Koo visited the venue of the Donghaeng (Companion) Festival being held in the Bupyeong Renaissance commercial district in Incheon, along with Lee Byung-kwon, second vice minister of SMEs and Startups.
The festival is being run for 30 days starting on the 11th, linking 50 local festivals nationwide to encourage spending in neighborhood shopping districts and traditional markets.
In Incheon, it is tied to the city’s “Bupyeong Black Day (BB-Day)” festival, with programs including tour buses for overseas cruise visitors arriving at Incheon Port, joint discount events among Bupyeong merchants and cultural performances aimed at attracting domestic and foreign tourists.
Meeting with representatives of the Bupyeong Culture Street merchants association, Koo said he understood the area to be a strong example of revitalization, noting that merchants voluntarily organized street vendors and created a car-free street.
He said the government will continue policy efforts to improve business conditions for small merchants facing difficulties from the Middle East war, including holding the festival and swiftly disbursing relief funds for damage from high oil prices. He reiterated the goal of boosting local consumption and domestic demand.
Koo also visited a handicrafts booth and a clothing store at the venue and bought items, saying a strength of local shopping districts is being able to find quality handicrafts and apparel at reasonable prices. He urged the public to visit local shopping areas and festivals to enjoy them and spend money to help energize communities.
Lee said the April Donghaeng Festival is being promoted in connection with 50 local festivals nationwide, including Bupyeong Black Day, to revitalize commercial districts and encourage local spending. He said the government will keep pushing consumption-boosting policies so small business owners affected by the Middle East war can regain momentum.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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