Baek Jong-won, Yesan Market Emergency Closure "It's Not Because Business Is Bad"

Five Collaborative Restaurants Closed for a Month
Upgrades to User Environment Announced

Baek Jong-won, CEO of The Born Korea, is temporarily halting and reorganizing the 'Reviving Local Markets Project' planned in his hometown, Yesan, Chungnam. He stated that this is to "make Yesan Market a place people want to visit again."

On the 21st, Baek uploaded a video titled 'Urgent! Yesan Market is Pausing' on his YouTube channel. He announced that the Yesan Permanent Market will be closed for about a month from February 27 to March 31, aiming to notify the public earlier than planned. Not all stores in the market will close; only five restaurants managed by Baek will be affected.

Baek said, "It's not closing because things are failing," and added, "Thanks to your enthusiastic support, the start of our market project has been very successful. Thanks to the passionate help, local merchants and residents have been surprised, confused, but also happy."

However, the system to accommodate a large number of people is insufficient. According to Yesan County, about 100,000 people visited Yesan Market during the month after five restaurants opened on the 9th of last month. Facilities such as restrooms and restaurant sizes were evaluated as inadequate to satisfy visitors.

Baek expressed, "I sincerely apologize for the various issues," and said, "When we first started the market, few people thought it would succeed, and few wanted to participate. I thought we needed to proceed in stages." Aware of reactions like 'It will just be a temporary phenomenon that shines briefly and then fades,' he said, "I will gratefully take that to heart, not as a curse. I worry more than anyone else and can't sleep because of it."

Baek plans to address issues by ▲ increasing the number of stores to solve dining problems ▲ developing menus for children ▲ leveling the uneven ground to reduce dust. He said that when the market reopens on April 1, it will be a place where food, entertainment, and shopping come together.

Before the project started, Yesan Market saw about 200 visitors on traditional market days and only 20 to 30 visitors on other days. After collaborating with Baek Jong-won, weekday visitors reached 5,000 per day, and weekends saw up to 10,000 visitors.