Street vendors driven out of Insa-dong

By Kim Rahn

A couple was busy making and selling “pulppang,” or small pastry filled with red bean paste, in Insa-dong, central Seoul on Wednesday afternoon.

While some foreign tourists were eating the street food and taking pictures, a Korean customer asked the vendors for the location of a nearby gallery, so the husband, Sohn Byeong-cheol, 53, gave directions.

Sohn and his wife, Kim Suk-kyeong, 51, who both have hearing disabilities, have sold pulppang for 16 years here, but from May they will not be allowed to as the ward office is moving all stalls to two designated sites.

Jongno-gu Office cites passengers’ right to pleasant walking on less congested streets, while stallholders claim their sales will suffer drastically as the new sites are less visited by tourists.

The clash between the sides has been made public after the couple sent a petition to President Lee Myung-bak whom they first met in December 2006 when he visited Insa-dong after leaving his post as Seoul mayor.

In an impromptu move, Lee helped them make the snack, saying he sold pulppang with his mother when he was young and it reminded him of her. The couple also appeared together on a television program last September with the first couple at Lee’s invitation.

Sohn recently sent a letter to the presidential office to appeal for help.

The ward office plans to move Insa-dong’s 76 stalls to two designated spots as part of its plan to make the street car-free on weekdays as well as weekends. Officials say the street is usually packed with people and stalls make the street more crowded.

“Such stalls are illegal in principle. By moving them to specific spots, we seek to make the street pedestrian-friendly and at the same time legalize the stalls by charging site usage fees of about 1 MILLION won per year,” director Kim Oh-hyeon of the ward office’s construction management division said.

However Sohn and other vendors are vehemently protesting the order.

In the letter to Cheong Wa Dae, Sohn said, “We can’t accept the plan, as the sites are like ‘tombs for vendors’ as not many visitors come. Stalls are part of Insa-dong’s culture and are tourist attractions. We’ll cooperate with the ward in other things to make Insa-dong one of the world’s most famous tourist sites. Please do not take the grounds of our living away.”

Sohn said the absence of street vendors in Insa-dong will mean a void of key appealing elements.

“Insa-dong without street vendors may look empty. Foreign tourists, the most important factor in Insa-dong, become curious about Korean culture through stalls. By trying my pulppang, foreigners learn about one of Korean foods, one of Korea’s cultures,” Sohn explained.

Culture vs. illegality

A Japanese businessman who visited Insa-dong, Yoshiro Satoh, said he liked the atmosphere where small shops and stalls are gathered. “Street vendors, selling accessories and snacks, are very interesting. I think they are a good feature of Insa-dong.”

A Korean visitor who was having “hotteok” (sugar pancake) said stalls allow passers-by to have light snacks at low prices. “There are good restaurants here, but to taste food there, we have to go into the places on purpose. But we can have easy access to street vendors, and they are part of Korean culture,” 48-year-old Lee Tae-kyung said.

Kim Geun-ki, 53, who has sold “yeot” (Korean taffy) on a stall for 15 years, said 730 street vendors from Jongno 1-ga to 6-ga streets were all moved to eight locations in 2009 and are suffering financial difficulties.

“At that time, Seoul City and Jongno Office said their gathering them together would create sales synergy. But only some 30 of them are making both ends meet and the rest of the businesses have been devastated. I earn 70,000 to 80,000 won per day, but if I move to the designated site, I may make less than 10,000 won,” he said.

Kim from the ward office said if they don’t crack down on illegal stalls, they can’t crack down on shops that display goods outside. “Those shop owners pay 5-6 million won in monthly rent, but visitors buy goods from the street vendors, who pay neither rent nor tax, and don’t go into shops. So, store owners display their goods outside, making the street more crowded. “

He said the designated sites are not in a remote area and the vendors won’t lose much in sales. “In making car-free streets, shops will also see some losses in sales but they are ready to endure it. It is not right that illegal vendors claim their own rights,” Kim said.

Sohn said stalls are part of Korean culture and offer various experiences to tourists. “Removing stalls doesn’t make Seoul a premium city. I hope for a win-win policy that can satisfy the ward office, shop owners, street vendors, citizens and foreign tourists.”