Codes promoted at community centers, apartment complexes

158 shops at Babo Intersection listed with Naver Maps links

The alley shopping district near Babo Intersection at the University of Ulsan (left) was designated a "neighborhood shopping street" on Aug. 7, prompting the Mugeodong Community Welfare Center to launch a QR code guide to local stores. [Ulsan Nam-gu Office]
The alley shopping district near Babo Intersection at the University of Ulsan (left) was designated a "neighborhood shopping street" on Aug. 7, prompting the Mugeodong Community Welfare Center to launch a QR code guide to local stores. [Ulsan Nam-gu Office]

Amid a prolonged slump in local commercial districts, a community welfare center in Ulsan has drawn attention for using QR codes to help residents discover nearby shops.

The Mugeodong Community Welfare Center in Nam-gu, Ulsan, has launched a grassroots promotional campaign, posting QR code flyers at the center itself and on bulletin boards in apartment complexes to direct residents to shops in the Babo Intersection district, a commercial area in front of the main gate of the University of Ulsan.

Scanning the QR code with a smartphone brings up a list of 158 shops — out of 310 in the area — that have joined the Ulsan University Babo Intersection Merchants' Association, along with their locations linked to Naver Maps.

Merchants in the area formed the association after sales stagnated for years following the COVID-19 pandemic, which sharply curtailed dining-out and social gatherings beginning in 2020. Their efforts paid off in August, when Nam-gu Office designated the district an official "neighborhood shopping street" — a status that allows member shops to accept Onnuri gift vouchers, giving consumers another payment option.

To further boost the district, the Mugeodong Community Welfare Center plans to post QR code notices in apartment elevators and common areas, share the codes with neighborhood self-governing organizations including residents' associations, and promote them through printed materials.

Kwon Bok-jae, chairman of the Ulsan University Babo Intersection Merchants' Association, said he hopes the QR code initiative will make it easier for consumers to find shops in the district.

Shin Mi-gyeong, head of the Mugeodong Community Welfare Center, said the center will install QR code signboards at the entrance to the Babo Intersection area and at other key points to serve as a convenient guide for visitors.


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