Key takeaways
In January 2016, the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives cut off electricity and seawater supply to the old market building to push merchants toward the modernized new building, and in March announced it would classify merchants who remained in the old building as conducting illegal business activity. Fact Merchants refused to relocate, citing the new building's smaller commercial floor space and higher rent. Fact This conflict dragged on for years despite a court ruling in the merchants' favor, and reporting as recent as July 29, 2026, referenced it — in a comparison with a different local government's street-vendor cleanup case — as "the Noryangjin Fish Market modernization project, where conflict persisted for more than three years even after a court ruling in the merchants' favor." Fact
The ones who benefit are the operators of the modernized new building, with its improved sanitation and facilities. The ones who had to bear the cost are the merchants who had to accept smaller floor space and higher rent. And the ones who bore the broader social cost of this conflict are the entire local community that watched this long standoff unfold.
What to look for on site
- Traces of the conflict involving merchants in the new building (check on site whether the old building still stands)
- News coverage describing the process of resolving the conflict
- Market scenery that reveals the tension between facility upgrades and merchants' livelihoods
A structural question worth carrying with you
By whose standard is the word "modernization" defined? FIT TRIP won't answer that for you. But it's worth carrying the question as you walk.