Bungaejangter Flea Market Draws Over 70,000, Up 5x From Last Year

Last September, Seoul's Nodeulseom Island buzzed with the fervent excitement of the '2025 Bungae Flea Market Festival'. This event, jointly planned by Bungaejangter and the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture, attracted an impressive 70,000 visitors, achieving overwhelming success with a five-fold growth compared to last year. The spectacular sight of crowds forming a long queue from early morning, five hours before opening, already foreshadowed the festival's success. Around 120 teams and 469 sellers, including models and fashion creators, participated and showcased their unique and distinctive collections. The transaction value for secure payments made via Bungaepay at the venue reached approximately 330 million won, and the total number of second-hand transactions amounted to over 29,000 cases, an explosion of more than three times compared to last year. Notably, on the first day of the event, a record was set, already surpassing last year's total transaction value, truly highlighting the public's intense interest in second-hand trading. This festival went beyond being a mere marketplace, significantly contributing to the spread of sustainable consumption values. In collaboration with 'Hankkan', an eco-friendly booth production company, reusable booths were installed, and reusable shopping bags were provided instead of disposable items, showing no hesitation in eco-friendly efforts. As a result, approximately 2,448 tons of carbon emissions were reduced, an astonishing figure equivalent to the amount emitted by a car driving around the Earth 265 times. Various experience booths for visitors also gained popularity. The 'Bungae Care Booth,' where professional appraisers were stationed to verify the authenticity of purchased items using advanced equipment, added credibility to second-hand transactions. In addition to the 'BGZT Collection' booth, a luxury second-hand store, special booths were set up where artists from Duoover and singer Loco sold their cherished items and interacted with fans, further enhancing the festival's enjoyment. A Bungaejangter official emphasized that this event "demonstrated that re-commerce has moved beyond simple second-hand trading to become a lifestyle and a festival of consumption culture," adding that they will continue to innovate for the spread of sustainable consumption culture. Thus, the Bungae Flea Market Festival has been reborn as a meaningful festival, opening new horizons for second-hand trading and presenting the future direction of consumption culture.