"NO CARD, ONLY CASH (no cards accepted, cash only)"
On the 11th, a sign at a kimbap street stall in Gwangjang Market read this phrase. Payment was possible only by cash or bank transfer. The spot, known as a foodie favorite, was crowded with customers even on a weekday morning.
Amid recent controversy over price gouging and unfriendly service at Gwangjang Market street stalls, most were found not to accept card payments. The Seoul Metropolitan Government and Jongno District announced a plan to introduce a "street stall real-name system" at Gwangjang Market within the year. The Gwangjang Traditional Market Merchants' Federation, to which the street vendors belong, also said it would step up enforcement.
◇ Street vendors say they don't know how to take card payments
On the 6th, a Jongno District official said a lunchtime field inspection found that "80% on site could take card payments." However, when this reporter visited Gwangjang Market the same day and tried to pay by card, only one out of 10 stalls said it was possible.
A few days later, we returned to Gwangjang Market. Street vendors in the food section near the east gate all said card payments were accepted, suggesting improvement. But in other sections, most still took only cash, Onnuri gift certificates, and bank transfers.
A vendor selling snacks had a card terminal installed but said they did not know how to use it, adding, "We're not taking cards." Another vendor who said card payments were possible still steered customers toward cash. When attempting to pay by card, the stall owner frowned and said, "Can't you just do a bank transfer?" Another nearby vendor said, "I'd have to replace the (card terminal) receipt paper—how about a bank transfer?"
A foreign visitor to Gwangjang Market expressed frustration. A foreigner buying bungeoppang said, "I went around several places in Gwangjang Market and only heard that card payments weren't accepted," adding that the vendors said "Only cash."
◇ Merchants' association says it is working to fix card payment refusals
The Gwangjang Traditional Market Merchants' Federation, which the Gwangjang Market street vendors belong to, said it recognizes the problem and will improve it as much as possible. It noted, however, that there are limits to curbing individual deviations.
A federation official said, "Isn't it different to have failed to introduce a payment system and to refuse card payments?" adding, "It's just that the vendors aren't taking cards." The official added, "We are trying to introduce it across the board, but many are older, so adoption may vary."
There is growing criticism that most street stalls in Gwangjang Market are not registered businesses and therefore are not obligated to issue cash receipts, leading to repeated refusals of card payments.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government and Jongno District plan to implement the street stall real-name system within the year. They plan to strengthen monitoring by granting occupation permits to each stall, stipulating areas and durations, and requiring reauthorization annually.
However, the consensus is that the real-name system for street stalls will be hard-pressed to resolve issues of unfriendly service and price gouging beyond card payments. That is because, even after Jongno District ran "mystery shopper" inspections and the merchants' association conducted more than a year of training on eliminating overcharging, price labeling, courteous service, and hygiene management, similar problems have continued to recur.
Another stall repeated a method similar to the "price gouging" issue recently revealed by a YouTuber. At a snack stall that day, a photo of the 8,000-won "glutinous rice sundae" showed sundae and liver on a plate. The vendor said, "The photo is wrong," adding, "If you want tripe included, you have to order the 10,000-won 'sundae and meat assorted.'"