Gachon University runs '1,000-won campus store' for second straight year

Gachon University announced Friday it will participate in the "Gyeonggi Province College Students' 1,000-Won Campus Store" project — run in partnership with Gyeonggi Province, NH NongHyup Bank, Hana Bank, the Gyeonggi Social Welfare Council and the Community Chest of Korea — opening the store from September through December to coincide with the start of the second semester.

The 1,000-won campus store is a student welfare initiative that uses corporate donations and donated goods to offer bundles of groceries and daily necessities at 1,000 won — more than 90 percent below market price. Gyeonggi Province introduced the program last year, the first of its kind in the country, to ease the financial burden on university students struggling with high living costs and tuition fees.

Gachon University took part as a pilot institution last year alongside Pyeongtaek University, drawing strong interest — about 13,000 students used the store over the two semesters. Building on that success, the program expanded this year to six universities across the province, with Ajou University, Yuhan University, Gyeongbok University and NongHyup University joining for the first time.

Starting in the second semester, Gachon University's student council will take direct charge of running the store and plans to increase the number of operating days compared to last year. The product bundles will also be expanded to reflect student preferences, featuring items such as instant rice, ramyun, home meal replacement products, banchan, frozen mandu, frozen snacks and health and beauty goods.

"This year we plan to actively reflect the results of student preference surveys to expand the range of products and increase the number of operating days, so that more students can enjoy real savings on their living costs," said Park Jun-gi, president of Gachon University's student council.

President Lee Gil-ya called the 1,000-won campus store "a practical welfare initiative that eases students' living expenses," adding that the university would "continue to work with local communities and related organizations to expand welfare policies that students can feel, and create an educational environment where students can focus on their studies."