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Yesterday's (bourgeois) Korea Times reported the following:

Conflict deepens in Insa-dong
Street vendors vow to resist ward office's relocation plan

As usual, Insa-dong in central Seoul is crowded with foreign tourists busy taking pictures, looking around the shops and buying souvenirs or food on Sunday afternoon.

The peaceful scene makes it hard to imagine what took place in this tourist area over the last couple of weeks ― brutal clashes between street vendors and demolition workers hired by the Jongno District Office.

Just one week ago(5.24) thugs ("demolition workers"), hired by the Jongno-gu office...

...attacked the Insa-dong street vendors
 

The violent physical clashes are expected to be repeated as workers hired by the ward office will use force to push the plan to relocate the recalcitrant stall owners to two designated spots so tourists can more freely walk along the main street of Insa-dong.

 
The crackdown is also in line with a move to make the street car-free on weekdays as well as weekends.

Vendors a part of culture

However, street vendors are resisting the relocation plan, using their bodies to block demolition workers from taking their stalls.

Some of the stalls were broken into pieces with their owners defiantly opposing the crackdown. One street vendor passed out during the clash and was taken to a nearby hospital.

The clash obviously shocked citizens and travelers witnessing the violence in one of the most popular attractions for foreign tourists.

There have been more than 30 minor and major clashes there this year.

In the beginning of April large forces of "demolition workers"...

...threatened the Insa-dong street vendors with massive violence!!
 

Stallholders claim their sales will suffer drastically as the new sites are away from central Insadong and obviously less traversed by tourists.

 
“They are threatening our survival,” said Kim Geun-ki, a senior member of Jongno Street Vendor’s Union. “They’re moving us to places where few people visit, and it is obvious that we won’t make a living there.”

Kim, who has sold “yeot” (Korean taffy) from a stall for 15 years, said 730 street vendors from Jongno 1-ga to 6-ga streets were all moved to eight locations in 2009 and are suffering from financial difficulties.

“At that time, Seoul City and Jongno Office promised to support us once we moved to the designated locations. But they haven’t received any support, and behind the main streets, the business of most street vendors was destroyed. The same thing will happen to street vendors here, too,” he said.

Street vendors will pay necessary taxes, if the ward office legalizes their business in the street, which is the best solution, he said.

Regarding the street vendors, many foreign visitors said street stalls are part of the Insadong culture, which makes the atmosphere more interesting and appealing.

“It’s fun to see all these different street vendors here. I don’t have any problem with them. They don’t harass me or anything.” Chris Hotsworth from the U.S. said, who visited the street with his family. “I think it’s part of Insadong culture.”

Citizens’ right to walk

But the ward office is firm on its plan, claiming pedestrians’ right to have a pleasant walk on less congested streets should be the first priority.

“Such stalls are all illegal in principle. Visit here during weekend, you can’t walk easily due to many street vendors blocking the way,” said Kim Oh-hyeon, an official from the office. “We initially planned to move all 78 stalls here to the new sites, but now decided to move only 24 stalls, considering the condition and request of the stallholders. I think they also need to make a compromise.”

Relocating street vendors is also important in order to keep shops from displaying their goods outside. “Without the relocation of street vendors, we can’t regulate shops when they illegally occupy the pedestrian area, either,” he said.

Regarding the physical clash, which give visitors a bad impression of Korea, Kim said it is an inevitable part of the enforcement of law.

“We’re trying to minimize physical clashes, but some of the street vendors are the cause as many people here show sympathy to the stallholders, but we will act the boundary of the law,” he said.

The ward office is handing out leaflets to visitors to explain the necessity of the relocation of the street vendors, in four different languages.

Last Thursday, both sides called for a truce after the brutal clash ahead of the upcoming meeting between representatives of street vendors and the head of the ward office.

The peace may be short-lived as both parties are unlikely to narrow their differences on the relocation plan. Rather the conflict may escalate as the deadline of the relocation is set for June 15.
 
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FIGHT gentrification!

STOP the social cleansing!!