Street vendors halt business after online controversy
Published: 12 Dec. 2023, 17:50
Updated: 12 Dec. 2023, 20:07
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- KIM JU-YEON
- [email protected]
![Pojangmachas, or street food vendors, lined up near Jonggak Station in Jongno District, central Seoul. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2023/12/12/ad1af596-3d6f-45b7-91f6-f6f0e7929d08.jpg)
Pojangmachas, or street food vendors, lined up near Jonggak Station in Jongno District, central Seoul. [NEWS1]
One Jongno pojangmacha sold seven oysters on the shell garnished with chojang (dipping sauce made of red chili paste and vinegar), chili peppers and sesame seeds, for 20,000 won ($15), an online community user said in a post uploaded Nov. 22.
![An online community user posted a photo of seven oysters that were sold for 20,000 won ($15) at a food vendor in Jongno District, central Seoul, under the title ″This must be made public. The reality of food vendors in Jongno.″ [SCREEN CAPTURE]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2023/12/12/af62b494-7ee6-4ac3-8a8d-1e21693b1966.jpg)
An online community user posted a photo of seven oysters that were sold for 20,000 won ($15) at a food vendor in Jongno District, central Seoul, under the title ″This must be made public. The reality of food vendors in Jongno.″ [SCREEN CAPTURE]
Criticism of the vendor grew online, with other community users chiming in with their own bad experiences at pojangmachas. As the controversy grew, owners of the 60-some pojangmachas located on Jongno’s pocha street decided to voluntarily halt their businesses for 10 days and reorganize, starting from the end of last month.
“The contentious issues were problems limited to only some street vendors, but many merchants took a hit [to sales] as the total number of customers visiting the pocha street dropped by half,” said a source from the street stall merchant association. “In light of the controversy, merchants have decided to take sufficient time off to rebrand our image.”
The merchants each contributed 600,000 won for supplies to clean ventilation systems and cutlery. They are also in conversation with the district office to designate the pocha street as a tourist spot to allow for credit card usage.
BY HAN JEE-HYE, KIM JU-YEON [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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