Bamdokkaebi Night Markets Seoul's No. 1 policy: foreigners

Bamdokkaebi Night Markets are Seoul City's most popular policy among foreign nationals. / Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government

By Kang Seung-woo

Annual night markets featuring food trucks and various cultural attractions in various locations around Seoul have been selected as the city's best policy by foreign residents and tourists, the local government said, Monday.

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, it carried out a poll on its policies for 2018 among foreigners and found that its Seoul Bamdokkaebi Night Markets were voted the top initiative, gaining 5,469 votes.

The online survey was held in six languages from Nov. 28 to Dec. 9 and 15,172 foreigners from 72 countries participated, with Indonesians accounting for 16 percent.

The night markets, officially launched in 2016, are places where visitors can enjoy food from around the world, shop for unique handmade accessories and watch various cultural performances. In 2015, the city government offered the markets as a trial run.

This year's markets were open from March 30 to Oct. 28 in six venues: Yeouido Hangang Park, Banpo Hangang Park, Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Cheonggye Stream, Oil Tank Culture Park and Cheonggye Plaza.

True to their name, which refers to a mythical creature similar to a goblin that sometimes appears at night in Korean folklore, the main markets are only open on Friday and Saturday nights. Some venues are open on Sunday as well.

In 2016, foreigners also voted the night markets the most popular.

By language group, English- and Chinese-speaking voters liked the night markets most, while Seoullo 7017, the overpass-turned-sky garden near Seoul Station, was the most popular among Japanese speakers.

The city government's free suit rental service and plastic-free initiative came in second- and third-best policies, respectively, each gaining 4,040 and 3,943 votes.

The suit rental is aimed at helping to ease the financial burden on young jobseekers who need a formal suit for job interviews but cannot afford to purchase one.

The service was launched in April 2016 and by the end of last year, 27,251 people benefited from it, according to the city government.

Any Seoul resident aged 18 to 34 can use the service and each one can borrow a suit up to 10 times. For the service, Seoul City is in partnership with three tailor shops.

The third-placed zero plastic initiative came earlier this year as Seoul City is cracking down on single-use plastic cups as part of its ambitious plan to become a plastic-free city, or at least halve the use of disposable plastic goods by 2022.

“Seoul City is set to continue online promotion of its policies globally,” said Yoo Yeon-sik, who heads the Public Communications Bureau at the metropolitan government.

“Also, we plan to study the poll results in producing policy content to promote the image of Seoul.”