[Korea] What can a market do beyond selling food?

What can a market do beyond selling food?

In Seoul, Marché@ is a farmers' market founded in 2012 with one clear goal: to create a place where producers and consumers meet, talk and understand more about the food they eat every day.

Marché@ calls its approach a “conversational market”. Shoppers do not just pick out vegetables, fruit or seasonal produce; they meet the farmers in person and hear about the farm, the growing methods, the varieties, the season and the story behind each product.

From a first market in Hyehwa, Marché@ has grown into a network running around 50 markets a year. According to figures Marché@ published in 2023, each Farmers Market brings together around 50–60 groups of farmers, chefs and makers; attendance ranges from around 600 people at small vegetable markets to 5,000 people at the large farmers' markets.

But Marché@ does more than create a direct outlet for small farms. It also runs activities on seasonal food, agriculture, biodiversity and low-waste living. Each market is run by a coordination team and around 20–30 volunteers; visitors are encouraged to bring their own baskets, bags and utensils, while items such as paper bags, jars and cool bags are collected and reused.

The story also gives Vietnam plenty to think about.

As big cities keep growing, the distance between urban people and the people who produce their food keeps widening. Small farms struggle to reach stable markets, while consumers have very few chances to know where their food comes from, how it was grown and who benefits from each purchase.

Could local markets become part of the solution? Not only as an outlet for farm produce, but as a fairer route to market for producers, a way to preserve native foods, and a way to rebuild the relationship between city and countryside?

That is why Vcil Travel School Korea IV meets Marché@: to observe how a market can become a space for the local economy, food education, consumer culture and community connection.

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Vcil Travel School Korea IV: From the Miracle on the Han River to Alternative Pathways
Dates: 14–24/10/2026
Organisers: Vcil Community (Vietnam) & Jungto Society (Korea)

Ask about the programme at:
https://vcil.community/travel-school/han-quoc-102026#program_register-form

#VcilTravelSchool #KoreaIV #MarcheAt #FarmersMarket #LocalFood #CommunityEconomy #ExperientialLearning

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