The first issue of Big Issue Korea (BIK), the South Korean version of the London-based magazine sold by homeless people, was published Monday.
BIK offers homeless people opportunities to earn money by selling the magazines. Fifteen people started their sales in Seoul on Monday, and the BIK aims to expand the number to 50 by the end of the year, according to the publishing company.
The sellers of the magazine register as temporary vendors, or "Big Pans," who are given temporary identification cards and 10 free copies of the magazines to sell. Upon 15 days of sales, the individual is granted a position as a formal Big Pan, who can buy the magazines for 1,400
won(US$1.15) a copy and sell them for 3000 won (US$2.46).
The Seoul metropolitan government will provide some financial support for the company, although the exact amount is yet to be determined, according to officials.
The Big Issue, a British magazine founded in 1991 by John Bird and Gordon Roddick, is read by 670,000 people throughout England, according to local press reports. Australia, Japan, South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, Malawi and Namibia also publish their own Big Issue magazines.