Street vendors in the tourist neighborhood of Myeong-dong in Seoul’s Jung-gu District will soon begin accepting credit card payments. Shown is a food kiosk in the area with a sign reading “Credit cards accepted.” (Jung-gu District Office)
By Kim Seon Ah
Credit cards will soon be accepted by street vendors in Myeong-dong, a neighborhood in Seoul’s Jung-gu District popular with foreign tourists.
Jung-gu District Office on Feb. 5 said, “By March, all street vendors in the district will register as businesses and introduce card readers.” The move reflects the voluntary willingness of vendors to recover the neighborhood’s reputation as the nation’s No. 1 tourist destination and restore trust, it added.
In November last year, working-level talks were finalized with the Jungbu District Office of the National Tax Service, with certain vendors having completed business registration. Such businesses will install card readers by March to allow tourists to pay in ways other than cash.
The prices of 10 popular foods will be monitored monthly including those of bungeoppang, a fish-shaped bun filled with red bean paste, eomuk (fish cake) and ojingeogui (grilled squid). If price adjustments are necessary due to factors like rising costs of raw materials, prior consultations with Jung-gu are needed and prices will be raised gradually.
The merchants will also wear standard hygiene attire to raise awareness of Myeong-dong as a “trusted food destination” and improve the image of street vendors there.
“We will actively work to spread positive perceptions of Myeong-dong street vendors,” a source from an association of Myeongdong street vendors said. “Vendors will also strive to ensure that tourists leave Myeong-dong with only happy and pleasant memories.”
sofiakim218@korea.kr
