Street vendors step up to handle food waste in 'Clean Myeong-dong Campaign'

Merchants join voluntarily at police request, with signs in English and other languages

Seoul Metropolitan Government plans expansion to tourist zones and traditional markets

A sign for the Clean Myeong-dong Campaign. [Seoul Metropolitan Government]
A sign for the Clean Myeong-dong Campaign. [Seoul Metropolitan Government]

Some 346 street stalls in Myeong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, are now accepting trash from tourists who cannot find a bin after eating street food. Visitors who finish a snack and have nowhere to dispose of the packaging can simply walk up to the nearest stall and hand it over.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Sunday that it is promoting the initiative, called the Clean Myeong-dong Campaign, together with the Seoul Tourism Foundation. The campaign grew out of a common tourist frustration: after buying and eating street food or beverages, visitors often struggle to find somewhere to throw away their waste. It took shape after street vendors in the area agreed to participate voluntarily at the request of the Namdaemun Police Station, which has jurisdiction over Myeong-dong.

Jung-gu has long grappled with the problem. Trash cans installed in the area drew complaints about illegal dumping and foul odors, prompting residents to demand their removal — yet the absence of bins generated equally frequent calls to put them back. Over the past decade, the district repeatedly installed and removed trash cans in response to the competing demands.

Tourists can drop off their trash at any participating stall, even if they did not buy anything there. To make it easy for foreign visitors, the city distributed multilingual signs — in English, Japanese and Chinese — to all 346 stalls.

The city also released a promotional video produced in collaboration with influencer HelpYun. The video surpassed 1.66 million views on Instagram within a day of its release and topped 910,000 views on TikTok. The city plans to expand the campaign to tourist zones and traditional markets.

"This is a meaningful example of hospitality toward tourists made possible by the voluntary participation of local street vendors," said Cho Seong-ho, director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's tourism and sports bureau. "We will work together with local communities to spread this effort from Myeong-dong to every corner of Seoul."


ken@heraldcorp.com