KAIST-Eoeundong Co-prosperity Project was designed to help the small business owners of Eoeun-dong during COVID-19

With no clear end in sight to the COVID-19 crisis, the once-bustling streets of Eoeun-dong have largely been deserted during the prolonged online semester. As economic hardships loom over the small restaurant owners of Eoeun-dong, a group of KAIST students organized a prepayment system named  “KAIST-Eoeundong Co-prosperity Project” to help them.

From May 9 to 15, KAIST members, including students, employees, and alumni, could purchase restaurant dining tickets redeemable during the upcoming fall semester through the Project Committee. Dining tickets were sold in units of 10,000 KRW, and students could choose which restaurant to fund. Those without a preference could also make prepayments without specifying the restaurant. The Committee will select which restaurant the purchaser will receive dining tickets for, chosen among stores that have gathered fewer prepayment sales than others. Overall, approximately 220 KAIST members participated and prepayments amounting to more than 10 million KRW have been deposited.

Purchasers sent the money to the Project Committee and received one serial number per payment unit. The Committee then delivered the payments to the restaurants on May 19 along with the serial number and student number attached to each purchase. The dining tickets can be used from September 14 to December 18 later this year by signing off the list of serial numbers at the restaurant. Tickets can be used in 10,000 KRW units, and no change will be provided. 

The project also offered donation options for those who did not want to utilize the prepayment method but still wished to contribute to Eoeun-dong restaurants. Donors could either directly donate to preferred stores, or do so without a specified recipient.

The project began with a KaDaeJeon post on March 18, when sophomore student Hye-Rim Lee from the School of Computing, the Head of the Project Committee, proposed the idea of a prepayment method that spreads out the sales of the fall semester to make up for the sharp drop in sales this semester. Six more undergraduate and graduate students joined the team, and Professor Taesung Yoon and Professor Byoung Pil Kim from the School of Business and Technology Management provided general and legal advice for the project. The Committee visited every restaurant, cafe or bakery, and pub in the Eoeun-dong area, and out of approximately 100 businesses, 64 agreed to participate.

In the case that the dining tickets cannot be used later for reasons such as a restaurant going out of business, the relevant business has the obligation to process the refund of the ticket value. Each business owner signed an agreement regarding their rights and responsibilities. Moreover, five percent of the payments to the project is to be held in a reserve fund that will be used for refunds if a restaurant fails to provide them. All bank transaction records will be revealed to ensure the transparent management of funds.

The project was initiated so that KAIST students could contribute to minimize the damaging effects of COVID-19 on the economy of their beloved Eoeun-dong.

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