[Report] "Customers Are Returning"... Yesan Market Rises Again After Controversy

"Baek Jong-won Market" Yesan Permanent Market Sees Surge in Visitors

1.4 Million Visitors This Year... Baek Jong-won Controversy Surpassed Last Year's Annual Total

Family Tourists and Foreign Visitors Flock in Search of Local Food

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"Castella cake, noodles, walnut cookies, Volkatsu... What else did we eat? We ate so much. Out of all of them, I thought the cold noodles were the best." "For me, it was the Castella cake."

On the 26th, siblings Jang Jiyu (14) and Jang Jium (11), whom we met at Yesan Permanent Market in Yesan County, Chungnam, said they had visited the market two days in a row during a three-day family trip to Yesan. The siblings, who live in Yeongtong, Suwon, said, "The market is fun. It has a retro vibe," smiling brightly.

On the day of the reporter's visit, the entrance of Yesan Market was adorned with a sign reading "Yesan Permanent Market," along with vintage posters and benches, seemingly to highlight the old and worn-out market building. From the entrance to the marketplace square, which serves as a dining area where food purchased at the restaurants is eaten, there were low tables and chairs set up. The restaurant signs and the interior design inside the market stood out, making it feel as if one had stepped into a market from the 1970s or 1980s.

At the marketplace square, there were a variety of visitors, including family travelers with children, groups of friends and acquaintances, and foreign tourists. Although it was around 3 p.m. on a weekday, past lunchtime, more than half of the seats in the marketplace square were occupied.

The entrance view of Yesan Permanent Market in Yesan County, Chungnam, on the afternoon of the 26th. Photo by Hyunjin Jung

That day, four Chinese women in their twenties were grilling pork belly. They said they decided to make a day trip to Yesan by train during a trip to Seoul after watching a video of Shin Yu, a member of the boy band TWS, visiting Yesan Market. An employee tidying up tables at the square said, "It was packed during lunchtime, but there are fewer people in the afternoon," adding, "These days, on weekends or public holidays, there are no seats available, so people wait about an hour to eat." While most restaurants did not have lines, a steady stream of tourists wandered the market debating what to eat, and there were quite a few visitors choosing products at shops selling alcohol or desserts.

Yesan Market, also known as "Baek Jongwon's Market," is showing signs of revival. According to Yesan County, the number of visitors to Yesan Market this year reached 1.4 million as of the previous month. After being renovated and reopened under the leadership of Baek Jongwon, CEO of The Born Korea, the number of visitors increased from 3.7 million in 2023 to 4 million in 2024, but then plummeted to 1.3 million last year. This year, the annual number of visitors surpassed last year's total in just five months.

On the afternoon of the 26th, visitors were dining at the marketplace square inside Yesan Permanent Market in Yesan County, Chungnam. Photo by Jeong Hyunjin

Yesan Market became a highly popular regional development project by organically connecting local food, market businesses, and tourism content through collaboration between The Born Korea, Yesan County, and local merchants. Although it is a market with a 100-year history, just four years ago, it received only about 10 visitors per day. In 2018, The Born Korea signed an agreement with Yesan County and launched an urban regeneration project, remodeling Yesan Market and reopening it in January 2023 as part of its regional development initiative.

After reopening, Yesan Market experienced growing pains due to its newfound fame. The Born Korea promoted changes focused on affordable foods such as noodles for around 3,000 won and pork belly for around 5,000 won, causing a surge in crowds immediately after opening. Within three months, various problems such as lack of infrastructure, hygiene issues, and rapid price increases emerged, and conflicts with local merchants arose. The project became controversial at the National Assembly audit due to criticism that a private company was privatizing a local government project, and the rapid popularity led to soaring rents and gentrification issues. In addition, various allegations surrounding CEO Baek Jongwon further reduced the number of visitors.

Currently, Yesan Market has about 80 stores, of which more than 30 percent—or 26 stores—are directly or indirectly influenced by The Born Korea. More than half of all stores sell food, desserts, or alcoholic beverages, and except for those that only rent grills, all stores that have received consulting from The Born Korea sell food. The Born Korea operates a startup model that supports young people who settle in Yesan and start businesses, offering help with deposits, interior design, menu development, and training costs. In addition, to maintain the plans established at the time of the market's reopening, The Born Korea continues to provide consulting and hygiene management at directly managed stores.

On the afternoon of the 26th, visitors are walking in the alley behind Yesan Permanent Market in Yesan County, Chungcheongnam-do. Photo by Hyunjin Jung

On the afternoon of the 26th, a merchant was organizing their stall at the Yesan Permanent Market in Yesan-gun, Chungnam. Photo by Jeong Hyunjin

Yesan Market now faces the challenge of devising self-sustaining measures to ensure sustainable development from a mid- to long-term perspective.Choi Jaegu, Mayor of Yesan County, said, "The merchants started to say, 'If things continue like this, we won't survive,' and began to actively change. They didn't raise food prices, paid attention to taste using CEO Baek's recipes, and responded kindly, so the market became self-sustaining. Now, about 30,000 to 40,000 people visit on weekends."

CEO Baek plans to continue expanding regional development projects based on the Yesan Market model. At a meeting with reporters that day, CEO Baek emphasized, "Regional development creates new added value by designing a structure that can be sustained with local residents over the long term, rather than focusing on short-term results. Although there are no immediate tangible profits from regional development projects from a corporate perspective, the process of developing menus using local specialties and storytelling allows us to collect data and conduct research and development (R&D), which in turn creates limitless value."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.