'Night Goblin Night Market on the Go' Seeks COVID-19 Medical Staff

From Health Day on the 7th to the end of this month, Support for Medical Staff at 12 Municipal Medical Institutions
Market Road Support for Small Business Owners Facing Livelihood Difficulties Due to Indefinite Postponement of Night Market

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul’s Night Goblin Market food trucks will visit medical staff and relief organizations working to prevent COVID-19 infections from the 7th, which is “Health Day,” until the end of this month. Under the name “Visiting Seoul Night Goblin Market,” the food trucks plan to tour 12 municipal hospitals and reach over 5,000 medical personnel.

According to Seoul City on the 7th, this event aims to send messages of support to medical staff exhausted by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic while also helping food truck vendors, who are facing financial difficulties due to the indefinite suspension of night markets, recover their sales.

On the first day of the event, the 7th, six food trucks will visit locations including the Children’s Hospital starting at noon, Seoul Medical Center, and Eunpyeong Hospital. The food trucks visiting medical institutions will provide freshly made beverages such as coffee and drinks directly to the medical staff on site. Furthermore, only food trucks that have obtained a negative rapid antigen test certificate from medical facilities to prevent the spread of COVID-19 can participate. Strict hygiene education and compliance with business reporting procedures under the Food Sanitation Act will be ensured, and the entire process from ingredient preparation to beverage production will be carefully and safely managed.

Meanwhile, the “Visiting Seoul Night Goblin Market” is being recognized as a model of virtuous coexistence in the With-Corona era by simultaneously opening sales channels for Seoul’s food truck small business owners struggling due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and supporting vulnerable groups with lunch boxes and beverages. Last August, beverages were provided to medical staff at 56 screening clinics, and from September to November, “Coexistence Lunch Boxes” were delivered to 45 relief organizations for vulnerable elderly people facing difficulties due to the suspension of free meal services, as well as disabled and child protection institutions where going out is difficult.

In the second half of the year, Seoul City plans to hold events attracting citizens at various locations throughout the city, based on experiences such as the “Quarantine-style Christmas Market Night Goblin Market” held last year at Dongdaemun Digital Plaza (DDP). Lim Geun-rae, Seoul City’s Small Business Policy Officer, said, “We hope to provide an opportunity for food truck small business owners, who are facing livelihood threats due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, to recover their sales, and to offer a moment of rest and comfort to medical staff exhausted by the surge in confirmed cases. We expect that in the second half of the year, the Seoul Night Goblin Market will be held normally, helping small business owners and providing attractions for citizens.”