Currently, due to the prolonged COVID-19, and the continuous increase in the number of infected people, daily life as before is becoming impossible. As a result, many people express their dissatisfaction with stores closing at 10 P.M. Jeong Seok-young, a senior majoring in Electronic Engineering, complained “After a long day, I go to a bar to relieve my stress, but there isn’t enough time to talk with my friends, and it’s impossible to enjoy myself within the constraints of time. It’s a pity to see the closed stores where I used to visit, and unlike before, the Jungmun commercial district is in a slump.” However, store owners who used to be open late, and now have to ask customers to leave, have more difficulties than store users who used to close at 10 P.M. even before COVID-19. Especially, bars that were usually open late got a hit hard. Oh Se-hee, a chairman of the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise expressed her grievances about the current situation. She said, “Over the past year and a half, self-employed people have been in debt of more than 66 trillion won, and a total of 453,000 stores, averaging of 100 stores a day, have been closed. Due to business restrictions caused by the COVID-19 for 2 years, small business owners who have not been able to withstand are now being driven to extreme choices.”
  Lim Ho-bin, a self-employed ‘Zarakuramen’ business owner nearby Chungbuk National University, said “Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the number of visitors has decreased due to the decrease in the number of students in school. Sales are also decreasing because our store is in the school street. In the past, I made more profit from walk-in customers, but now I’m focusing on delivery. Because of the current situation, I hope that the university will alternate face-to-face classes rather than going offline for the entire semester. The government provided desposits to small business owners, and in the case of collective prohibition or business restrictions, had supported by size of businesses, and in other cases, it was paid according to the decrease in sales. However, this did not help much with the actual damage. Considering labor costs, maintenance costs, and monthly rent, I think the deposit is insufficient. I hope the COVID-19 situation will calm down as soon as possible so that self-employed like myself will be able to breathe again.” he said, expressing his honest and realistic opinion on the government's support.
  To hear another merchant’s opinion, Lee Jeong-woo, a self-employed “Ilmi-RI Geumgye Jjimdak” who is doing business nearby Chungbuk National University, gave an honest opinion on government support, “I have a very negative view of the government’s move under COVID-19 because it’s not enough for self-employed people to provide cash and tax cuts which have any standards and grounds, and I hope the support system itself has to be improved. Rather than new supports, I think the government needs to have more clear standards for the ways of existing supports. I think it will be helpful to prevent self-employed people, who barely cover their monthly rent while forgetting their deposits, from going bankrupt if the government sets loan benefits standards more clearly for them. I hope the government’s support and deposit will serve as a chance for many people, including me, most efficient and fairly possible.”
  Kim Soo-mi, who runs “Rai Yoga & Pilates,” said “There was a difference as much as 80% in sales before and after COVID-19. Rental fees account for 85% of the center’s operating expenses, and I was able to get a 20% discounts on rent for three months from May to July 2020 through ‘the government funded Good Landlord Initiative.’”
  Due to the COVID-19 catastrophe, many people complain of extreme discomfort with no end in sight. In this article, the reporter listened to the frank opinions of merchants on the continuous challenges and changes in commercial districts caused by COVID-19, the inconvenience of people caused by such changes, the difficulties of the merchants, and government support. There has been a lot of support, and it is still ongoing, but it is still far from adequate to fully compensate for the damage caused by the COVID-19 for 2 years, and it seems that more practical help is needed. As many self-employed people are struggling, the CBT reporter hopes that the COVID-19 situation will subdue as soon as possible and everything to be normal.

By Kim Ji-min l jimin41@cbnu.ac.kr