Event held at Hyundai Wia's Factory No. 3 in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province
18 local farms take part
Company to purchase and donate produce to local welfare facilities
Hyundai Wia held a farmers market called "Eum Market" — a community agricultural fair — at its Factory No. 3 in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, on Wednesday, the company announced Thursday.
The market is Hyundai Wia's flagship community partnership program, designed to connect local farms with consumers. The company has run the event since 2024 using its rural-urban cooperation fund to promote quality local produce and expand sales channels for farmers. Eighteen farms from the Changwon area took part in Wednesday's market.
With chuseok approaching, Hyundai Wia centered the market on seasonal produce and processed foods in high demand for the holiday. Offerings included rice, mixed grains, sweet potatoes, persimmons, Shine Muscat grapes, melons and kiwifruit, as well as processed goods such as sesame oil, dried seaweed chips, Changwon mangae rice cakes and mountain ginseng makgeolli. Participating farms were recruited and selected by the Changwon Agricultural Technology Center based on regional representation and food safety standards.
Hyundai Wia also organized experiential programs for employees and their families. These included a perfume-making class using locally grown Changwon herbs and a flea market selling handcrafted goods made by children at the Hyundai Wia daycare center. In addition, visitors who purchased produce were entered into a prize draw to encourage sales at the market.
To extend the event to employees at worksites outside Changwon, Hyundai Wia is also running a mobile version of the market, in which a vehicle loaded with produce travels to each worksite and opens a one-day market. On Thursday, the mobile market visited the company's factories in Seosan and Pyeongtaek, and on Friday it will head to the Uiwang research center. Visitors can browse each farm's products on-site and place orders by mobile phone for fresh delivery.
Hyundai Wia will also purchase produce from participating farms and donate it to local social welfare facilities, including free meal centers, as part of its efforts to support vulnerable communities. Participating farms have also chosen to donate a portion of their sales proceeds, adding to the spirit of mutual benefit.
"We hope the market will serve as a reliable sales channel for local farms and a place where our employees can share fresh, seasonal food they can trust," a Hyundai Wia official said. "We will continue to develop a range of community partnership programs that grow alongside local society."
Meanwhile, Hyundai Wia has been actively expanding its business portfolio for sustainable growth. The company recently held a parking solution customer showcase at the Hyundai Motor Group's Uiwang research center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, where it demonstrated how its parking robots operate and outlined plans for deploying them in residential complexes.
likehyo85@heraldcorp.com
