Two Glocal Commercial District Teams and Six Local Brand Creation Teams Selected
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on April 23 that it has finalized the selection of two teams for the "Glocal Commercial District Creation" initiative and six teams for the "Local Brand Creation" initiative, both aimed at revitalizing regional economies through commercial district planning led by local creators.
A local creator refers to an entrepreneur who creates business value by combining innovative ideas with the natural and cultural characteristics of a region.
The Glocal Commercial District Creation project is designed to attract both domestic and international foot traffic to neighborhood commercial districts by having local creators lead the integration of various spaces and content?including clustered spaces, stay spaces, and circulation spaces?within these districts. The project will focus on fostering anchor stores within neighborhood commercial areas, and will support the development of an autonomous commercial district management model that prevents gentrification through collaboration with diverse stakeholders such as local residents and building owners. This will be achieved in partnership with local governments.
The teams selected for the Glocal Commercial District Creation initiative are located in Jongno-gu, Seoul (lead company Urbanplay) and Jung-gu, Daejeon (lead company Wingwing). Over the next five years, these teams will receive up to 15.5 billion KRW in support from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and local governments.
The Local Brand Creation project supports local creators in collaborating with small business owners to embed regional identity into neighborhood streets and develop them into brands, while also helping local youth discover and refine entrepreneurial ideas.
The teams selected for the Local Brand Creation initiative are located in Seocho-gu, Seoul (lead company Moveculture), Buyeo-gun, Chungnam (lead company Segan), Gimje-si, Jeonbuk (lead company Celesta), Naju-si, Jeonnam (lead company Najuhyeopdongsanghoe), Yeongdeok-gun, Gyeongbuk (lead company Chobless), and Jeju-si, Jeju (lead company Illowa).
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups will provide support for preliminary small business startup and innovation programs, education and consulting, joint branding, and product development. Meanwhile, local governments will provide up to 1 billion KRW over two years for commercial district-linked festival planning and operation, as well as the establishment of local infrastructure. In addition, to ensure the success of the Glocal Commercial District and Local Brand Creation projects, regular workshops will be held to encourage voluntary collaboration and solidarity among lead companies and local stakeholders, and a team of expert mentors will also be established.
Lee Daegun, Director of Small Business Policy, stated, "The Glocal Commercial District and Local Brand Creation initiatives are new types of commercial district revitalization policies that use local creators as focal points to collaborate with merchants, residents, and the local community to transform neighborhood commercial districts into global cities." He added, "By making neighborhood commercial districts places that attract and retain visitors from around the world, we aim to prevent regional decline and expand the domestic market."
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