Seoul opens 5,000 ad spaces on subways, newsstands to small businesses — for free

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Thursday that it is accepting applications from small businesses and nonprofit organizations to use more than 5,000 city-owned advertising spaces — including subway cars, newsstands and shoe-repair stands — free of charge. The application window runs through Oct. 16.

Eligible applicants include businesses and organizations with a registered address in Seoul whose operations fall under categories designated by law for city support — among them disability-owned enterprises, women-owned businesses, cooperatives, traditional market vendors, social enterprises and shared-economy companies. Organizations selected under the same project within the past two years are not eligible to reapply.

Early-stage youth entrepreneurs will receive bonus points during the review process. To qualify, a business owner must have been between 19 and 39 years old as of the announcement date — Sept. 14 — and have been in operation for at least one year but no more than three years.

The city plans to finalize selections next month through its public media access review committee. Successful applicants will receive support across more than 5,000 print media placements — including interior subway car ads, newsstand panels and shoe-repair stand displays — as well as roughly 100 digital screens at Seoul City Hall's public bulletin boards and subway station media boards. The city will handle all aspects of production and distribution, including design, printing, video production, posting and broadcasting.

Full details on the application process are available on the Seoul Metropolitan Government website. Results will be announced in November, with ads set to run on a rolling basis starting in March next year. Print placements will run for six months per organization; digital placements will run for two months.

"This initiative will serve as a springboard for small businesses and nonprofits that have struggled to promote themselves due to limited resources and the high cost of advertising," said Kim Hyeong-rae, the city's public relations planning officer.