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| People line up to buy from food trucks at Seoripul Food Truck Zone in Seocho-gu, southern Seoul, in this September photo. Namdaemun Market will have a food truck street starting Wednesday. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government |
By Kim Hyun-bin
A food truck zone will be set up on a street in Namdaemun Market in central Seoul, to better vitalize the area and attract more locals and tourists, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Monday.
The "food truck street" will operate from June 26 through the end of October on the 130-meter street between Mesa shopping mall and Samick Town. There will be 13 food trucks selling a variety of international dishes daily from 8 p.m. to midnight.
Besides the food, visitors will also be able to enjoy outdoor performances and purchase handcraft items and products made by social enterprises.
Since 2017, Seoul City has been expanding its food truck street project to different parts of the capital, in an effort to provide citizens with things to enjoy as well as offer food truck owners a place to operate.
It has set up five such streets so far, and two additional ones are scheduled to be opened this year, the one in Namadaemun Market and another near the Han River in Gangnam.
The city expects the two streets to be successful due to the large floating population in the areas and convenient public transportation.
Namdaemun Market itself already attracts many foreigners, but with the addition of the food trucks, the city believes it will become a much stronger tourist attraction, bringing not only tourists but also local families and young people.
"It is a project to revitalize the local economy and culture through cooperation between the city government and district offices," said Lee Sung-eun, director of the small business support division at the city government. "We will promote the project so it can become one of the district's iconic night attractions."
To better vitalize the food truck industry, the city offers education courses and professional consultations to people planning food truck businesses, and offers partial funding for those who complete the education course.
