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Captain Corea
Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Location: Seoul
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 Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2012 5:16 pm Post subject: Street Vendors |
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Some street vendors are raking it in
Under the law, street vendors are subject to regulation, but most local district offices let them operate freely because many of them say they are in low-income brackets and can barely make a living by selling odds and ends, junk food and fake designer goods at cheap prices.
�Once you secure a good spot and just sell fake designer goods such as Louis Vuitton, it is possible to earn 5 million won a day,� a merchant surnamed Hwang, 40, said. �It is quite a cash cow because most street stalls are only open for seven hours [4 p.m. to 11 p.m.] a day.�
There are about 270 street vendors in the Myeong-dong area, the Jung District Office said. Many street vendors, especially in Myeong-dong, run their business like a corporation manages subsidiaries. They operate three to four stalls by hiring part-timers. The part-timers earn 1.5 million won ($1,296) to 2 million won a month.
�Around 11 p.m., when most vendors begin closing down, owners show up to collect their money,� a merchant surnamed Choi, 41, said. �Some of them drive luxury imported cars and spend their days playing screen golf or billiards.�
Street stalls are sold like real estate. �Though a street stall is on sale, they only share that information with people they know,� a street vendor surnamed Park, 58, said.
The price for street stalls varies by location. An average price is around 50 million won and the price goes up to 150 million won if it is located in Jungang-no, the most popular place for international travelers and young shoppers.
Some owners lend a stall to a merchant for 3 to 5 million won a month or make a contract for 40 percent of a vendor�s monthly revenue.
Although the price of renting or purchasing a street stall is expensive, they are popular because it guarantees at least 1 million to 3 million won in revenue per day.
�It�s hard to track down street vendors because they [vendors] think we menace their right to live,� Lee Byeong-mok, a spokesman from Jung District Office said. |
So, we've got tax evasion, and breaking employment rules... no doubt there's even more underhanded stuff going on in this field. But yet when someone ties to clear them off the street, it's beating up on the little guy.
Let's hope this does a little bit to dispel that myth. |
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yodanole
Joined: 02 Mar 2003
Location: La Florida
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| Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2012 7:49 pm Post subject: |
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I won't comment on any political or economic issues. But I love the food stalls and the open markets. I find them colorful and exotic. I'd like to see more of that back home.
I really don't think that the fried squid lady is pulling that kind of stack.
Oh, snap, now I'm really hungry! |
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dairyairy
Joined: 17 May 2012
Location: South Korea
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| Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2012 8:35 pm Post subject: |
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| They sell knockoffs, make a great deal of money, and pay no taxes? Why would the government allow this to continue? There must be some sort of corruption. |
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nick70100
Joined: 09 Sep 2005
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| Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2012 9:28 pm Post subject: Re: Street Vendors |
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| Captain Corea wrote: |
So, we've got tax evasion, and breaking employment rules... no doubt there's even more underhanded stuff going on in this field. But yet when someone ties to clear them off the street, it's beating up on the little guy.
Let's hope this does a little bit to dispel that myth. |
There's no doubt that the guys selling high-margin goods on the busiest street in Myeongdong are making bank, but if we're talking about street vendors in Korea in general those guys are the exception not the rule. Do you think the old lady selling deokbokki and odeng behind an elementary school is making 5 million a day?
If the government somehow made all street vendors disappear tomorrow I'm pretty sure there would be more "little guys" getting hurt than the "big guys" described in the article. |
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Captain Corea
Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2012 9:32 pm Post subject: |
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But why not pay taxes? Why not conform to health regulations?
The truth is, many just feel above that sort of stuff... or in this case, below.
And it's the middle that bears the burden. |
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Steelrails
Joined: 12 Mar 2009
Location: Earth, Solar System
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| Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2012 9:45 pm Post subject: |
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| Just because someone can pull in 5 million won in one day, doesn't mean they pull in 5 million won every day, and that doesn't mean that that's their net. That's like saying waitresses aren't poor because in one night they can clear 500 bucks. Yeah, one slamming shift where everyone is a big tipper and you get one mega-party with a generous type that leaves 200 bucks of that, sure. But there are those Sunday afternoon shifts where you walk out with 10 bucks in cash. |
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orosee
Joined: 07 Mar 2008
Location: Hannam-dong, Seoul
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| Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 4:26 pm Post subject: |
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| Easiest way to find out who's legit and who isn't in Myeongdong is to point a camera at them. |
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fosterman
Joined: 16 Nov 2011
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| Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 4:52 pm Post subject: |
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Mafia control myeongdong,
the police tried many times to stop them but always failed.
the government forced vendors to get licensed booths, some did most didn't, the police came in a couple time and removed the vendors, the vendors just came back the next day. the police came again, the vendors just came back
the police finally gave up.
well, more like the police got their bribe money.
if the government and the police really wanted to put an end to the vendors in myeongdong, they could.. easily.
at 6pm when the vendors start to come out. just have a couple policeman patrol the area daily and stop any vendors from opening. that's it,.
beat cops can patrol the area. vendors are gone! arrest a few of the stubborn ones eventually they will get the idea.
the cops don't care.
but if I had shop on myeong paying 50 million won a month in rent and some vendor is in front of my shop selling the same goods as me, cheaper than me and not paying rent. I'd be pissed.. I am surprised the retailers don't make complaints. |
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fustiancorduroy
Joined: 12 Jan 2007
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| Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 5:32 pm Post subject: Re: Street Vendors |
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| nick70100 wrote: |
There's no doubt that the guys selling high-margin goods on the busiest street in Myeongdong are making bank, but if we're talking about street vendors in Korea in general those guys are the exception not the rule. Do you think the old lady selling deokbokki and odeng behind an elementary school is making 5 million a day?
If the government somehow made all street vendors disappear tomorrow I'm pretty sure there would be more "little guys" getting hurt than the "big guys" described in the article. |
Those type of vendors probably never come close to making 5 million won a day, but I wouldn't be surprised if they make over 5 million won a month. Any reasonably successful street vendor, whether they sale fake Vuitton bags or ddeokbokki, makes a good amount of money. |
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orosee
Joined: 07 Mar 2008
Location: Hannam-dong, Seoul
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| Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 5:49 pm Post subject: |
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| fosterman wrote: |
Mafia control myeongdong,
the police tried many times to stop them but always failed.
the government forced vendors to get licensed booths, some did most didn't, the police came in a couple time and removed the vendors, the vendors just came back the next day. the police came again, the vendors just came back
the police finally gave up.
well, more like the police got their bribe money.
if the government and the police really wanted to put an end to the vendors in myeongdong, they could.. easily.
at 6pm when the vendors start to come out. just have a couple policeman patrol the area daily and stop any vendors from opening. that's it,.
beat cops can patrol the area. vendors are gone! arrest a few of the stubborn ones eventually they will get the idea.
the cops don't care.
but if I had shop on myeong paying 50 million won a month in rent and some vendor is in front of my shop selling the same goods as me, cheaper than me and not paying rent. I'd be pissed.. I am surprised the retailers don't make complaints. |
4.5 years in Korea and I still don't know what the purpose of police here is. They don't regulate traffic/parking and they seem reluctant to fight crime. A pink-tied teenager or a backpacking ajumma send them running. The only uniformed, non-military forces that seem to work here are the riot police, and even they usually only show up in huge numbers.
One nice thing about Thailand is that we always knew what the police there stands for: to organize crime and to help with extra-judicial killings. But here? |
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