Busan Dongbaekjeon
Dongbaekjeon is the prepaid local currency of Busan, South Korea's second-largest city, named after the city's camellia flower. Residents load Korean won onto a card or app and earn cashback of up to 13% when spending at small businesses and traditional markets inside the city, with the program funded by the Busan Metropolitan Government and operated through BNK Busan Bank. Launched in December 2019, it has become a core instrument of Busan's local economic policy and is being connected to the city's emerging digital asset infrastructure, including plans for won-stablecoin exchange for visitors.
Busan's city-scale prepaid currency with strong adoption and a six-year track record, but like its Korean peers it is a fiat-pegged, state-run incentive scheme rather than sovereign money.
M69 Score
Scored against the Money2069 Manifesto — see methodology. Higher = more aligned.
Detailed Rating Breakdown
Issuance Model3x3.0
Debt-free prepaid issuance with budget-funded cashback and refundable balances, but the city is the sole issuer and supply tracks fiat top-ups, not any real-economy measure.
Spending Power Stability2x3.0
Full prepaid backing keeps it at exact won par and has for six years; the stability target is a single fiat currency, so long-term purchasing power follows KRW inflation.
Fiat Independence & Interoperability2x1.0
Entirely won-denominated and won-backed, running on bank and card infrastructure; no fiat-independence ambition in the design.
Traction2x4.0
Roughly a million-scale user base in a single metropolis with broad small-merchant acceptance and six years of continuous operation; usage is strongly cashback-driven and prices remain quoted in won.
Sovereignty1.0
Custodial balances, identity-based onboarding, and a single government issuer that sets rates and limits by budget decision each year.
Governance2.0
Municipal policy with public announcements and ordinance backing, but no participant voice in monetary parameters.
Resilience2.0
Survived operator handovers (KT to Kona AI to BNK Busan Bank) and repeated budget swings, yet remains dependent on annual city budgets and cashback politics.
Inclusivity3.0
Near-zero cost, open to residents, and structurally biased toward small businesses and traditional markets; requires Korean ID onboarding and stops at the city boundary.