Three Villages in Taebaek, Sokcho, and Yeongwol-gun, Gangwon Selected for 'Youth Village Creation Contest' Project

3 Billion KRW Support Over 3 Years for One Village, Gangwon Province Secures Total 1.8 Billion KRW in National Funds
Aiming to Prevent Youth Outflow and Encourage Urban Youth to Settle Locally for Regional Vitality

'Youth Village' Map [Gangwon-do]

[Asia Economy Reporter La Young-cheol] Taebaek, Sokcho, and Yeongwol counties in Gangwon Province have been selected for the government's ongoing "Youth Village Creation Contest Project."

The project aims to revitalize local areas by preventing the outflow of local youth and encouraging urban youth to settle in these regions.

The plan is to inject vitality into depopulated areas with youth at the center, guaranteeing them maximum autonomy and leadership in project implementation, thereby regenerating stagnant villages based on the creative ideas of young people.

Gangwon Province announced on the 16th, "In the 2022 Youth Village Creation Contest Project, three youth village business groups?Taebaek's 'Nolti Co., Ltd.', Sokcho's 'Treeval Co., Ltd.', and Yeongwol's 'Ieotdeon Co., Ltd.'?were selected, securing a total of 1.8 billion KRW in national funding, with 600 million KRW allocated per village."

Taebaek's 'Nolti Co., Ltd.' is a case where the company’s CEO returned to their hometown Taebaek and settled by starting a co-working space. The project involves developing and commercializing travel programs that connect content created from records and collections of seven closed mining towns, engaging youth participation. Building on their experience planning and operating various cultural and artistic projects aimed at creating a healthy community, they plan to advance the project.

Sokcho's 'Treeval Co., Ltd.' is a youth village project run by siblings who settled in Sokcho from Seoul, utilizing idle spaces (accommodation facilities) in Dongmyeong-dong, Sokcho, linked with the local commercial district. They operate experiential events lasting 2 nights and 3 days, 4 weeks, and 8 weeks that allow participants to feel and experience the region, producing content with the goal of having more than 25 young people settle in the area over three years.

Yeongwol County's agricultural corporation 'Ieotdeon Co., Ltd.' is a project where sisters returned together to their hometown Sangdong, Yeongwol, transforming highland cabbage fields into a permaculture farm and a pickled cabbage factory into a co-working space. Through a youth residency program aimed at learning and experiencing permaculture, they plan to develop Sangdong, Yeongwol, into South Korea’s first permaculture ecological village.

Permaculture is a compound word of permanent, agriculture, and culture, meaning sustainable agriculture and culture.

The province plans to form the "Gangwon Province Youth Village Support Council (tentative name)" targeting the three villages selected this year and "The Wave Company" in Gangneung, selected last year, totaling four villages.

Through this, they will provide administrative and financial support to ensure the successful execution of the projects, including advisory activities linking experts from various fields.

Lee Kyung-hee, Director of the Job Creation Bureau, said, "As Gangwon Province has already entered a super-aged society, youth policies have emerged as an urgent task that cannot be delayed even for a day," adding, "We will do our best to ensure the project is completed as planned and achieves the desired results."

Meanwhile, in this contest, 133 villages nationwide applied, and after three stages of evaluation?document screening, on-site inspection, and presentation assessment?a total of 12 villages were selected nationwide.