Kakao Launches Second Phase of Dangol Street Project... Digital Transformation of Commercial Districts in 7 Regions Nationwide

Kakao announced on the 16th that it is actively promoting the 'Dangol Street Phase 2 Project' in seven commercial districts nationwide.

Dangol Street is part of Kakao's group integrated win-win business slogan, "Closer, Kakao," unveiled last month. It is a win-win project that supports the digital transformation of local commercial districts to help small business owners communicate more smoothly with customers. The project is jointly conducted by Kakao, Kakao Impact, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Small Enterprise and Market Service, and the Fair Trade Commission.

The Phase 2 project target areas are seven locations: ▲ Sonamu-gil Alley Shopping District in Cheongju, Chungbuk ▲ Haenggung-dong Commercial District in Suwon, Gyeonggi ▲ Bukchon Gyedong-gil Alley Shopping District in Jongno, Seoul ▲ Bangulnae-gil Alley Shopping District in Mapo, Seoul ▲ Hyangchon-dong Commercial District in Jung-gu, Daegu ▲ Soridan-gil Commercial District in Changwon, Gyeongnam ▲ Gyeongchun Line Gongneung Sup-gil Commercial District in Nowon, Seoul. Including the eight areas from Phase 1, a total of 15 commercial districts will be supported this year.

Kakao extended the support period from the original 4 weeks to up to 8 weeks to strengthen the highly responsive one-on-one customized training. In addition, to facilitate communication with loyal customers, Kakao enhanced online and offline promotional activities for local commercial districts. They created representative channels to share news about the districts, expanded events to gain channel friends, and increased gifts and benefits provided to participants.

First, Suwon and Cheongju held the 'Commercial District Representative Talk Channel Friend Addition Event,' securing a total of about 8,100 Talk Channel friends, establishing communication channels with customers.

The next event is scheduled to be held during the Bukchon Gyedong-gil Festival in Seoul on the 19th of this month, followed by an event on Bangulnae-gil in Mapo, Seoul on the 26th. Events will also be held in other regions such as Nowon, Daegu, and Changwon. Participants will receive a 'Dangol Street Limited Edition Eco Bag' and enjoy various participatory events such as photo wall shooting.

Participating small business owners will receive various benefits including ▲ on-site one-on-one customized training ▲ support for Kakao service registration ▲ KakaoTalk channel message sending subsidies (KRW 3 million per commercial district, KRW 300,000 per individual store) ▲ exposure of 'business participating stores' banners on Kakao Map ▲ online and offline marketing support ▲ three months of free KakaoPay Money fees upon new KakaoPay merchant registration.

Park Yoon-seok, Kakao's Win-Win Growth Performance Leader, said, "We have strengthened support programs so that small business owners can expand customer relationships and grow their businesses through digital transformation," adding, "We will continue to make efforts to contribute to the revitalization of local commercial districts by preparing various measures reflecting the characteristics of each region."

Since 2022, Kakao has been operating 'Project Dangol,' which provides solutions through direct visits to support the digital transformation of small business owners. Project Dangol conducts various projects nationwide targeting small business owners in traditional markets through Dangol Market and local shopping districts through Dangol Street.

So far, digital education has been provided to 2,128 merchants from 162 traditional markets and local shopping district merchant associations nationwide. As a result, over 2,100 new KakaoTalk channels have been created, and 240,000 customers have been added as friends.