Gyeonggi Province's 'Ethical Consumption Movement' Breathes Life Into Local Economy in Fight Against COVID-19

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park No-hun] Gyeonggi Province's 'Ethical Consumption Movement,' launched to revive the social atmosphere and stagnant economy caused by COVID-19, is achieving results as it gains support from residents.

The 'Ethical Consumption Movement' refers to 'consumption that revitalizes the local economy' while maintaining physical distancing due to COVID-19, which helps small merchants and neighborhood merchants in difficulty. The province has been promoting various forms of ethical consumption movement since the 24th of last month, including drive-thru marketplaces, online performances, and creating lecture content.

First, through drive-thru marketplaces and online sales, the province sold a total of 322 tons of agricultural products, livestock, seafood, and flowers, generating 1.5 billion won in sales.

The Gyeonggi Agricultural Products Distribution Promotion Center sold 34 tons of agricultural and livestock products via drive-thru at marketplaces in six cities and counties including Anseong, and the province and fisheries cooperative sold 877 sets of seafood products in the same manner at permanent seafood markets in Ansan, Hwaseong, and Kimpo. Additionally, a drive-thru flower market operated five times at the Goyang Flower Expo permanent marketplace, and online sales by the Agricultural Products Distribution Promotion Center also sold 286 tons of agricultural products.

The response to the 'Ethical Travel Campaign,' which offers up to 70% discount on admission tickets to tourist attractions in the province available until the end of next year, was also enthusiastic. Following the complete sell-out of 16 venues on the first day of the discount ticket opening on the 11th, as of 17th at midnight, 140,000 out of 190,000 admission tickets to 79 paid tourist attractions were sold. The sales rate reached 74%, achieving 650 million won in sales. The final sale is currently underway on the social commerce platform Tmon.

Online lecture and video content production are actively being created as part of efforts to support freelance instructors, artists, and athletes. From the 7th to the 13th, the province conducted five sessions of 'Basic Income Online Air Education' in a live online broadcast format to support freelance instructors. The Gyeonggi Province Sports Association supports online instructional video content at the discretion of volunteers at 77 sports clubs until operations normalize, with 73 sports instructors currently conducting online classes. The Gyeonggi Arts Center operates 'Bang Bang Cock Cock Arts Broadcasting Station,' showcasing works from 256 performance groups including cultural sharing performance groups, cultural and artistic social enterprises, arts groups, and indie musicians, as well as 28 works selected through the Gyeonggi Province Arts Groups' Excellence Performance Support Program to overcome COVID-19. The center supports production costs including stage equipment and appearance fees for performance artists facing economic difficulties and is receiving positive responses. The videos are being released on YouTube 'Kkwak! TV Gyeonggi Arts Center' (19,000 subscribers) and Naver TV.

In addition, the province will operate 16 lifelong learning projects that can transition to non-face-to-face format online and upload them to the Gyeonggi Province online learning platform Knowledge (GSEEK) and YouTube. The province will support 1,760 people including provincial instructors, instructors from commissioned institutions, and program participants with instructor fees, manuscript fees, and activity expenses, and support small merchants involved in video production with rent and production costs.

A 'drive-thru playground' where performances or movies can be enjoyed in cars is also being operated. The Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation will showcase cultural and artistic performances and independent films postponed or cancelled due to COVID-19 at outdoor drive-in theaters in Yangpyeong, Goyang, and Ansan every Saturday from June 13th to July 4th. The Cultural Foundation will select 40 performance works and provide support up to 20 million won each, and purchase 50 independent films, with 10 films being screened this time and the remaining films to be screened sequentially in museums and other venues. Food trucks operated by nearby local small merchants in drive-thru fashion are planned to be placed nearby.

To support neighborhood bookstores, the province will provide book delivery costs of up to 360,000 won per venue to 272 Gyeonggi Province-certified local bookstores.

Additionally, the National Public Officials Labor Union Gyeonggi Regional Headquarters and Gyeonggi Integrated Labor Union, which are labor unions of Gyeonggi Province Government, are carrying out a mask donation campaign as ethical consumption with social value. Masks purchased and donated by civil servants and their families will be distributed to elderly people living alone and to households of grandparent-grandchild and grandmother-grandchild families.

A Gyeonggi Province official said, "The Ethical Consumption Movement is playing an important role in overcoming the COVID-19 crisis together with Gyeonggi Province's disaster basic income," and added, "We will continue to carry out various forms of ethical consumption movement going forward."