Nation's First Start... Busan City Opens 'Citizen Sharing Market'

Busan City will open the '2023 Citizen Sharing Market' on the 18th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Sunken Plaza area within Songsanghyeon Square.

2022 Citizen Participation Sharing Market Event Scene.

Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, the city was the only one nationwide to operate a sharing market, and this year, as daily life returns to normal, it will once again be the first in the country to open the doors to the sharing market.

The Citizen Sharing Market was first opened in 2003 to prevent resource waste through reuse and to realize the values of environmental protection and sharing. Marking its 21st year this year, it has been recognized as an opportunity for citizens to directly participate in sharing, serving as a meaningful occasion to promote the value of resource recycling.

The event is organized by Eco Unniya and involves general citizens, social enterprises, and non-profit organizations selling recyclable daily necessities such as clothing, bags, and books. There will also be a battery and paper pack exchange event to cultivate habits of waste separation in daily life.

A children's market will be operated where children directly participate in sales, providing an opportunity to experience environmental protection practices and economic activities firsthand.

In particular, on this day, there will be waste separation education for children, various craft experiences using discarded items, and environmental protection campaigns, all designed to convey the value of the environment to future generations through diverse events.

Lee Geun-hee, Director of the City Environmental Policy Office, said, “We will continue to strive to make the Citizen Sharing Market, which marks its 21st anniversary this year, more actively accessible to citizens' daily lives.” He added, “As part of future environmental policies, starting this year, we plan to operate a district and county ‘Flea Market Pilot Project’ in Suyeong-gu and Geumjeong-gu. Through this, we hope people will experience the joy of reuse and the happiness of sharing.”

Last year, the ‘2022 Citizen Participation Sharing Market,’ held six times, saw participation from 571 individual and group teams and 18,500 people, with a total of 7,219 items sold and reused.

The sales revenue of 2,573,000 won, raised through voluntary donations from participants, was entirely donated to support self-reliance projects for 50 households of elderly living alone and grandparent-headed families.