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“Boosting Vitality in the Alleyway Economy!”… Busan Metropolitan City Selects Sites for the “2026 Alleyway Commercial District Revitalization Support Project”

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Busan Metropolitan City, led by Acting Mayor Kim Kyung-duk, announced that it has finalized the selection of target sites for the “2026 Alleyway Commercial District Revitalization Support Project,” aimed at fostering promising alleyway districts into representative local commercial areas.

Now entering its fifth year, the project primarily supports the “specialization of alleyway commercial districts” by integrating local resources and culture centered around 15-minute living zones.

The city selected five new alleyway commercial district communities: Nam-gu Gyeongseong General Merchants Association, Jung-gu Nampo-dong Old Restaurant Alley, Nam-gu Dalbit Godong-gil, Gijang-gun Jeonggwan Dolphin Street, and Buk-gu Deokcheon Youth Street. Each district will receive KRW 25 million in growth support funding.

The final sites were selected through document screening and presentation evaluations conducted by alleyway commercial district communities following a public call for applications last April.

In particular, this year the city collaborated with the Dongnam Regional Statistics Office to obtain objective data such as sales volume, business openings and closures, and floating population figures for applicant districts, utilizing the data for commercial district analysis and selection evaluations.

The newly selected districts will also participate in the “Alleyway Commercial District Community Organization Support Project,” which is designed to help organize communities of small business owners operating outside the institutional commercial district system.

Through the project, the city plans to support merchant capacity building, branding strategies tailored to the characteristics of each alleyway district, development of district storytelling content, joint marketing, environmental improvements, and promotional activities. The initiative is also intended to strengthen merchants’ capabilities to independently identify and resolve issues within their local commercial districts.

In addition, Busan Metropolitan City selected two outstanding alleyway commercial districts — Jangnim Industrial Supplies Street in Saha-gu and 40-Step Culture & Tourism Theme Street in Jung-gu — as “Busan-Style Alleyway Support” districts through evaluations of existing alleyway commercial districts.

Each selected district will receive KRW 100 million in revitalization support funding, and intensive development projects will be implemented to establish them as representative alleyway commercial districts of Busan.

On May 6, the city conducted presentations by alleyway commercial district communities and comprehensive evaluations by the review committee for nine districts in their second and third years of participation, ultimately selecting the final outstanding districts.

In addition to the two outstanding districts, the remaining seven alleyway commercial districts will continue to receive support ranging from KRW 25 million to KRW 50 million per district based on evaluation grades to sustain revitalization efforts.

Jangnim Industrial Supplies Street, located in Jangnim-dong, Saha-gu, is a manufacturing-oriented alleyway commercial district that has supplied materials to the Jangnim and Sinpyeong Industrial Complexes for more than 30 years.

During its first year of support last year, the district received favorable evaluations for initiatives such as establishing a smart joint logistics system and developing a KakaoTalk AI chatbot linked to real-time participating stores.

This year, following its selection as a “Busan-Style Alleyway Support” district, the area plans to implement projects including a smart joint delivery system, advanced alleyway space design improvements, and a merchant association level-up academy.

40-Step Culture & Tourism Theme Street, located in the original downtown area around the 40 Steps in Jungang-dong, Jung-gu, is a representative alleyway commercial district that preserves the history and memories of Busan.

Through the “Busan-Style Alleyway Support” project, the city plans to create a stay-oriented commercial district connected with historical, cultural, and culinary resources.

To achieve this, various festival programs such as stamp tours and receipt events, along with joint marketing initiatives including pop-up stores, social media promotion, and merchant association newsletters, will be carried out.

At the same time, Busan Metropolitan City plans to operate field-oriented “Commercial District Planners” for alleyway commercial district communities to support stronger self-sustainability and sustainable local economic revitalization.

Commercial District Planners will be deployed on-site to assist with community organization and provide commercial district consulting services, thereby encouraging broader participation by small business owners and strengthening the districts’ self-sustaining capabilities.

Kim Bong-cheol, Assistant Mayor of Digital Economy Office, stated, “We hope this support project will serve as an opportunity to widely promote the unique characteristics and appeal of Busan’s alleyway commercial districts,” adding, “Busan Metropolitan City will continue providing sustained support and attention to bring vitality to the local alleyway economy.”