Yeongdeungpo-gu 'Social Value' Sharing Venue & Nowon Social Economy Festival Held

[Seoul District News] Yeongdeungpo-gu to Operate 'Social Pop-up Store with Popogre' at The Hyundai Seoul from Sept 26 to Oct 2 & Hold 'Social Economy Together Market' at Lotte Cinema Yeongdeungpo Plaza on Sept 23 to Promote Social Economy Awareness and Value Consumption Culture... Nowon-gu to Host '2022 Nowon Social Economy Festival' on 24th... Guro-gu to Support SMEs and Ventures by Assisting Online and Offline Distribution Channel Entry and Strengthening Marketing Skills Training

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Yeongdeungpo-gu (Mayor Choi Ho-kwon) announced that it will operate the ‘Social Pop-up Store with Popogre’ and the ‘Social Economy Together Market’ in collaboration with large corporations to promote excellent products of social economy enterprises in the region and to pioneer new sales channels.

The ‘Social Pop-up Store with Popogre’ is a product rebranding using ‘Popogre,’ Yeongdeungpo-gu’s social economy joint brand, designed to enhance familiarity with the social economy and share social values with residents.

This pop-up store will be held from September 26 to October 2 at the underground first floor event hall of The Hyundai Seoul located in Yeouido. Seven social economy enterprises in the region will participate, showcasing various products such as ▲natural material fashion bags ▲pet supplies ▲eco-friendly soap ▲organic cookies ▲apple juice, among others.

The district expects this event to raise awareness of social economy enterprises, secure new customers, and contribute to increased sales.

Additionally, on the 23rd from 2 PM to 7 PM, the ‘Social Economy Together Market’ will be held at the plaza in front of Lotte Cinema Yeongdeungpo. Fourteen companies including social enterprises, social cooperatives, village enterprises, and self-support enterprises in the region will participate, selling directly produced ▲eco-friendly products ▲upcycled products ▲woodcraft products ▲handicrafts ▲food items.

Until 6 PM on the event day, experiential activities enhancing visitors’ enjoyment will be operated, such as painting using discarded coffee grounds, making brooches with buttons, and making scrap wood toys. Also, trainees who completed the ‘Health Keeper Training Course’ will provide free blood pressure and InBody measurements to support residents’ daily health management.

At ‘Studio Yeongwon,’ a social economy hub space, a life photo event will also be held. Visitors can take their own life photos using the camera, color screen, and shooting props prepared at Studio Yeongwon.

The Together Market will be held again at the same location on October 21. For more details, inquiries can be made to the Social Economy Division or the Together Market operation team.

Choi Ho-kwon, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, said, “I hope this event will help social economy enterprises in the region overcome management difficulties and achieve sustainable growth,” adding, “We will continue to strive to develop various products and services using Popogre so that value consumption can take root in the local community.”

Nowon-gu (Mayor Oh Seung-rok) announced that it will hold the ‘2022 Nowon Social Economy Festival’ on the 24th.

Marking its 12th year, this event was prepared to raise awareness of the social economy and support the expansion of sales channels. A total of 51 organizations including social enterprises, cooperatives, self-support and small businesses, and small merchants in the region will participate, operating 62 booths.

The booths are organized into five themes: ▲Sales Festival ▲Experience Festival ▲Promotion Festival ▲Food Festival ▲Job Festival. Especially this year, to raise awareness of the climate crisis, a ‘Zero Waste Zone’ will be operated, showcasing various efforts such as eco-friendly product giveaways.

At the Sales Festival, excellent products from social economy organizations in the region will be introduced and sold. Visitors can find social enterprise products such as traditional sauces, handmade accessories, art therapy kits, and recycled bicycles. Notably, the Nowon Senior Club’s ‘Our Neighborhood Blacksmith’ team will also participate, offering repairs for household items such as scissors and knives sharpening and bicycle chain cleaning for a small fee.

The Promotion Festival will feature an exhibition space under the theme ‘Living with Social Economy in Nowon’ to help the general public understand the unfamiliar concept of social economy. It will introduce types of social economy and social economy organizations, as well as representative projects of the Nowon Social Economy Support Center. Simultaneously, the ‘Zero Waste Zone with Nowon Social Economy’ will be operated to promote environmental protection practices in daily life.

Food items such as side dish sets, sandwiches, and beverages will also be available for purchase. Efforts to minimize disposable items include using paper packaging as much as possible and providing reusable straws when purchasing drinks with tumblers.

Various experience booths and events are also prepared. Visitors can make shampoo bars, perfumes, coloring books, and experience smart farms. After visiting and experiencing each booth, stickers will be distributed, and participants who collect five or more will receive a zero waste product set. Various events such as exchanging plastic bottle caps and milk cartons for recycled paper will also be held.

A ‘Visiting Job Counseling’ booth will be set up with participation from the District Job Counseling Center, Seoul Northern Women’s Development Center, and Nowon Women’s Human Resources Development Center. The Nowon Tax Office will also participate to promote the public tax agent system and earned income tax credit system, and provide free tax consultations including income tax from 1 PM to 3 PM.

The Social Economy Festival will be held at Junggye Deungnamu Cultural Park from 10 AM to 5 PM. The opening ceremony will take place at 10:30 AM on the outdoor stage, featuring awards for social economy contributors and an eco-friendly handkerchief unfolding performance instead of a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Meanwhile, the district is providing generous support to revitalize the social economy. In March, construction began on four Social Economy Support Centers, aiming for completion in March next year. The centers will provide stable business spaces for social economy enterprises, create local jobs, build social economy networks, and carry out various projects. Additionally, the district actively promotes social economy by holding annual social economy briefings and public procurement fairs.

Mayor Oh Seung-rok said, “I hope this event will promote excellent products of social economy organizations, expand sales channels, and provide a foundation for growth together with the local community,” adding, “We will continue to lead the revitalization of the social economy and do our best to contribute to balanced regional development.”

Guro-gu supports the expansion of sales channels and capacity building for small and medium venture enterprises.

Guro-gu (Mayor Moon Heon-il) announced that it will promote a customized marketing support project for expanding sales channels of small and medium venture enterprises in the region in cooperation with the Korea Venture Business Association.

This support project was prepared to strengthen the competitiveness of local companies, and to provide more effective support, the existing ‘online promotion support’ has been expanded to ‘distribution channel entry support.’

The district will discover promising local companies that have excellent technology and products but face difficulties entering online and offline markets, and provide comprehensive support for sales channel expansion, including online promotion, one-on-one consulting, promotional marketing capacity building education, and product evaluation meetings.

By supporting entry into various distribution channels, the district plans to diversify sales channels and establish a foundation for sustainable growth through follow-up management such as sales surveys after support.

The support target is 10 innovative technology companies and innovative product manufacturing and distribution companies located in Guro-gu. After recruiting and selecting companies, one-on-one consulting and distribution channel entry will be promoted next month.

The application period is until September 30, and applications can be submitted through the Korea Venture Business Association website.

A Guro-gu official said, “We hope this support project will help companies overcome difficult management conditions,” adding, “We will continue to actively work to resolve difficulties faced by local companies, including support for sales channel expansion.”