Gukje Market

Detailed introduction

The Gukje Market is a symbolic entity that once made Busan as the largest commercial city in Korea.

When the liberation came, the Japanese withdrew and they started to sell goods that were “controlled” during war to make money and run. Since then, various goods have continued to pour in the public market area of Bupyeong-dong, which was the biggest market in Korea. This historical backdrop is the setting whereby Gukje Market was spontaneously created as the permanent market from large vacant lot.

After the Korean War in 1950, the market was formed when refugees began businesses. Military goods and all kinds of goods were smuggled through the Busan Port since the US Army was stationed here. These smuggled products were supplied to major markets across the country through this bustling massive flea market.

Smuggled foreign goods as well as UN military supplies were traded in Gukje Market. Currently, there are 1,489 stores in about 650 companies and the number of employees numbers at 1,200 ~1,300. It is similar to the Namdaemun Market, but unlike other traditional markets, and commodities are like an intertwined ball of string.

It is a wholesale and retail market mainly consisting of stationery, kitchen utensils, machine tools, clothing, and appliances & electronic goods. There are bags, stationery, and handcrafts in zone 1. There are kitchen utensils, ironware, and optician shops are in zone 2. Zone 3 has bedding and boutique stores. Zone 4 has linen and cotton, silk fabrics, brocade stores and kitchen utensils. Zone 5 and 6 deal with household appliances, machine tools, linen and cotton.

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