The inaugural campaign runs from Tuesday to Saturday and draws in 104 small and mid-sized stores across busy quarters including Jeonpo-dong, Yeongdo and the Bosu-dong secondhand bookstore alley, the company said.
Naver is helping the shops adopt AI-based ordering and payment tools, among them QR ordering and an integrated offline terminal called Npay Connect, while also producing short-form video to showcase the merchants to visitors.
The timing is deliberate.
With BTS staging global concerts in Busan on June 12 and 13, Naver is sharpening features for foreign users, who can verify their identity with a passport to access its maps, reservation, ordering and payment services and translate storefront signs and menus through its Papago app.
The company also held a "Local Meetup" on Wednesday, gathering about 200 staff and local business owners to discuss the role of regional diversity in the AI ecosystem and to share growth cases and AX strategies through its Place, shopping and advertising teams.
"Busan is a dynamic city where its own character and culture breathe vividly through every neighborhood and alley," said Hwang Soon-bae, who leads Naver's Impact Synergy group, adding that it was all the more meaningful to launch Local Ground there.
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