Bahk Eun-ji has been with The Korea Times since 2012, building a career across multiple desks. She began at the Business Desk, where she conducted in-depth interviews with key figures in Korea's corporate world. Later, she moved to the Politics & City Desk, focusing on education policy and social affairs. She later served as team leader of the digital content team, leading curation efforts on the newspaper’s homepage and reshaping print stories for social media audiences to enhance digital reach. Now back on the Politics Desk, she covers the National Assembly and the Ministry of National Defense, with a renewed focus on political developments.
Yeongdeungpo opens market to provide free food to needy residents
A resident picks up food and daily necessities at Yeong Won Market in Yeongdeungpo District Office building in Seoul. The district office runs the market where needy residents can receive the necessities for free. Courtesy of Yeoungdeungpo District Office
By Bahk Eun-ji
By Bahk Eun-ji
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic is putting financial pressure on people, while some low-income families living in Korea, the world's 10th-largest economy, have apparently been unable to afford groceries.
Local governments have been working to help people who have been hit hardest and Yeongdeungpo District in southwestern Seoul has set up a store called “Yeong Won Market,” which can be translated as “zero-won store,” to extend a helping hand to residents whose livelihoods have been threatened by the prolonged pandemic. The district office opened three Yeong Won Market stores in spaces where it had been running food banks for low-income families.
The district office also explained that the name “Yeong Won” was chosen to signify a market for residents in Yeongdeungpo district, as well letting them know the items there are free of charge.
Items there include food products such as rice and instant noodles, and non-food items such as tissue paper, shampoo, soap and clothes. The items are donated by individuals and businesses.
While previously run food banks catered to people suffering from extreme financial difficulties and received state allowances for basic living, Yeong Won Market stores are open to any resident of the district who feels the pinch and they can take items worth up to 30,000 won ($27.20).
The district office did not install any anti-theft alarms or ID sensors at the stores and has entrusted residents to stop by if they feel they are eligible to use them. Visitors are only checked to see if they are Yeongdeungpo residents, while no other qualifications are reviewed. But if a resident visits the market for a second time or more, the person has to fill out a consent form seeking tailored consultation on welfare support available from a community center. In addition, they will be registered as regular users of food banks and markets according to the results of the counseling.
“The purpose of this project is to help residents in need and find those who have fallen through the cracks of the welfare system,” an official of the district office said.
“If a resident visits the market again, it means they could be in real financial trouble and need help. There are people who have not been protected by social safety nets and we are trying to discover those people through the market.”
“We ask for the cooperation of our residents so that neighbors who need support can get help as we ease the conditions on using the market,” said Chai Hyun-il, head of the district office.
Over the last few years, multiple suicide cases involving financially struggling families have shed light on loopholes in the country's welfare safety net, the official explained.
In January last year, three family members in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province ― a 37-year-old woman, her eight-year-old son and her 67-year-old mother ― were found dead inside their apartment. A note believed to have been written by the woman described their financial difficulties and they were not recipients of basic living allowances or other emergency state benefits.
A similar case occurred in December 2019 when a married couple in their 40s killed their two children and committed suicide in their home in Daegu after suffering from financial hardships. The couple reportedly applied for government subsidies. But they were rejected because their 20 million won housing rent deposit was included in a calculation of their assets.
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, right, is briefed by an official at Yeongdeungpo District Office about Yeong Won Market, during his visit, Saturday. Yonhap
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun visited Yeong Won Market on Saturday to encourage the officials at the district office, and promised to expand support for vulnerable residents.
“The government will make more efforts to expand support for low-income households who are suffering more economically due to the prolonged pandemic,” Chung said during his visit.
Chung also expressed hope for more donations to come from individuals and companies so that the food market can continue to operate until the end of the pandemic.