By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young

President Yoon Suk-yeol visited Uijeongbu First Market, Gyeonggi Province's representative traditional market, on Jan. 25 to encourage merchants who are facing difficulties due to the recent recession and winter cold snap, and to listen to their stories.

Upon his arrival, a large number of citizens and merchants welcomed President Yoon with chants of "Yoon Suk-yeol cheers," to which the President responded with a handshake and New Year's greetings.

Along with the president and Minister of SMEs and Startups Oh Young-joo, the president walked around various stores, including rice cake shops, fish shops, and side dish shops, asking how many customers they had and how much their products cost, and encouraging the merchants to keep the traditional market despite the cold.

The President also said, "The prices are really cheap," and purchased excellent products from the traditional market, and cheered the vendors, saying that he would "take care of the people's lives" and "actively support the traditional market."

The vendors responded to the president's visit by saying, "It's cold and we are grateful for your visit," and "Thanks to your support, we can work more energetically."

To the citizens who welcomed the visit with applause and cheers, the President said, "Happy New Year and be healthy. I will work harder," and promised to work harder for the people in the new year.

The President later had a luncheon with the market vendors near the market, where he had a casual conversation with them over a bowl of Uijeongbu jjigae, a representative food of Uijeongbu.

At the event, the President emphasized the safety of traditional markets, saying, "It is important to improve the environment of traditional markets, such as expanding parking lots, but it is also important to improve the aging of stores for safety."

"It is important to ensure that traditional markets can become a representative space for culture and tourism, not just for purchasing goods," the president said, emphasizing that "if there is a representative product or food in the market, it will be branded and people will gather."

In this regard, the President ordered Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Oh Young-joo to "think of ways to revitalize traditional markets, such as actively considering a tour program where market vendors can visit and learn from excellent markets around the world."

Finally, the president wished the restaurant's development by leaving a guest book saying, "Please be more loved as a taste and cultural space in Uijeongbu.

Meanwhile, the luncheon was served with stewed braised half-dried pollack, which the president had purchased at the Uijeongbu First Market the day before, and all the luncheon attendees shared the president's support for the traditional market.