A drive-thru fish market set up at Pohang, 374 kilometers southeast of Seoul. (image: Ministry of Interior and Safety)
SEOUL, April 7 (Korea Bizwire) – The Ministry of Interior and Safety said Monday it is conducting a number of campaigns in collaboration with local governments to promote consumption to help small business owners and local farmers hit by the coronavirus outbreak.
There are many ways to encourage local government employees actively use restaurants that saw a sharp drop in customers or to give quarantine supplies such as masks to residents who bring restaurant receipts.
Yangcheon District in Seoul is conducting a campaign to promote consumption in which employees pay more than 30,000 won (US$24.50) in advance at regular restaurants in the region, certify it on social media and nominate other participants to follow suit.
If a person goes to a community center with a receipt to prove they spent more than 100,000 won at a restaurant, he or she will be provided with hand sanitizers and masks.
Meanwhile, Suyeong District in the port city of Busan is also conducting an “eat and receive mask” campaign at a community center where local authorities give out masks if residents present receipts from restaurants in their district.
Drive-through open markets are gaining traction as well. Open markets where customers drive pass vendors lined up along the road to purchase various agricultural goods are becoming popular.
Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province will sell packages of green onions, lettuce and curled mallow at the Daeseong-dong Tombs Museum and Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, at the parking lot of the Central Lake Park.
Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, sold raw fish in a drive-through form at the Guryongpo Beach parking lot.
Other places such as Seoul, Busan and Ulsan are encouraging residents to visit restaurants and shops labeled with quarantine complete sticker that have been disinfected after COVID-19 confirmed patients visited.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
