The Traditional Market Revitalization Project Team through Digital Introduction, led by endowed chair professor Min Byoung-chul of Chung-Ang University and Mayor Jung Soon-kyun of Gangnam-gu, held their inauguration ceremony at the Gangnam-gu Office on Friday.

The project is a government-academic linkage project jointly planned by the Gangnam-gu Office and professor Min, who had proposed the project for government-academic cooperation in relation to the “fourth industrial revolution.”

The project aims to provide support for the modernization of traditional markets as digital transformation is needed to help small businesses survive. Students who are enrolled in business creativity, a course designed and developed by Min, will use their innovative ideas during the spring semester to help boost the sales of traditional markets that have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I believe that this is the first time for a Korean university to carry out a project to help revitalize small businesses in conjunction with a local government as part of a regular university class,” Min said. “Local businesses are the heart of every community and together, we will get through this pandemic by presenting innovative ideas.”

Following the inauguration ceremony, students and Gangnam-gu Office staff visited the Yeongdong Traditional Market and the Gangnam Gaepo Market to conduct survey interviews, collecting the opinions of merchants.

To encourage local residents to frequently visit traditional markets, online order and short-distance delivery systems will be established, and local attractions and foods will be presented and promoted through social media. In addition, major companies such as Lotte Mart and KT plan to participate as advisers to help successfully carry out the project to revitalize the traditional markets in Gangnam-gu through the introduction of digital technology that combines big data, IoT and blockchain technology. The creative ideas of the university students are expected to revitalize the traditional markets.

For the project team, not only Korean students but also students from other countries including France and the Netherlands are participating. Multinational students are expected to help come up with new ideas by comparing the traditional market of Korea with the traditional market of other countries.

Louis Decaix, a student from France, said, “I hope I will be able to present some very creative ideas to revitalize small businesses by comparing Korean traditional markets and traditional markets in France while I take this unique class.”

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)