Yeoncheon County in Gyeonggi Province has begun a pilot operation of "Happiness Cart," a mobile market that visits vulnerable rural shoppers, starting in front of the village community center in Hoengsan-ri, Jung-myeon.
According to Yeoncheon County on Wednesday, Happiness Cart is a mobile market that travels directly to village community centers to sell daily necessities for elderly and vulnerable residents who have difficulty moving around or traveling. It sells fresh food such as eggs, bean sprouts, and vegetables, as well as household goods, and payment can be made with Yeoncheon Love Gift Certificates and Rural Basic Income.
During the pilot period, the market operates primarily around a customized order-and-delivery service for vulnerable residents with limited mobility, alongside mobile sales.
On Tuesday, the first day of the Happiness Cart's operation, residents showed strong interest, mainly in fresh food such as eggs and bean sprouts. One resident said, "It is difficult to go all the way to a supermarket, so it is very convenient and nice that they come directly to the village."
The Happiness Cart makes a rotating visit to 34 villages across six townships—Gunnam, Cheongsan, Misan, Wangjing, Jung, and Jangnam—five days a week (Monday to Friday). Yeoncheon County plans to adjust the routes based on the results of the first (July 6-24) and second (August 3-21) pilot operations, then begin full-scale operation with finalized routes starting in September.
During full-scale operation, the service will not stop at selling goods but will also expand welfare service connections such as companionship, wellness checks, and living convenience support. The plan is to develop it beyond a simple mobile market into a comprehensive care channel for the rural elderly.
The Happiness Cart draws attention as a response to "food deserts" in Yeoncheon County, an area combining urban and rural characteristics. A food desert is a phenomenon in which residents find it difficult to obtain fresh food due to population decline and the collapse of commercial districts, and it is cited as a representative living hardship in rural areas with severe aging.
"We will continue to operate the Happiness Cart so that it helps resolve food deserts in rural areas and contributes to improving the living and settlement conditions of local residents," a Yeoncheon County official said.
