Sinchang-myeon, the Largest Foreign Resident Area in Chungnam
Major Investment Boons in Tangjeong, Samsung, and More
Asan City in Chungnam is experiencing a population increase due to successive urban developments.
In particular, Baebang-eup and Sinchang-myeon, located to the left and right of the original downtown area Onyang, are driving the population growth.
According to the city on the 8th, Baebang-eup, classified as a new town, had a population of 90,129 including foreigners as of March. This marks the achievement of 90,000 residents two years and eight months after surpassing 80,000 in July 2021. This means that one in four residents of Asan City lives in Baebang-eup.
If this upward trend continues, the city expects to surpass a population of 100,000 in the second half of 2025 or in 2026.
Accordingly, the city is also focusing on building infrastructure to improve living conditions such as culture and welfare in line with the urban development plans for Baebang-eup, where a large population is concentrated.
In fact, due to the population increase, the city has considered subdividing Baebang-eup or introducing the large eup system, which is a responsibility eup-myeon system, but subdivision was not implemented due to residents' opposition and the government's passive stance on the large eup system. However, the city has expanded the organization and personnel by additionally placing the New Town Civil Affairs Administrative Center in Jangjae-ri, the Baebang New Town area.
In the case of Sinchang-myeon, foreigners are leading the population increase.
Since August 2023, about 4,000 households have moved into Sinchang-myeon, reaching a population of 30,000. Furthermore, there are currently 5,468 households either under construction, approved for housing projects, or applying for housing project approval, which is expected to lead to an additional population increase of 12,030.
Most notably, Sinchang-myeon has 9,552 foreign residents, accounting for 31.7% of its population, making it the area with the highest number of foreign residents among the 208 eup, myeon, and dong in Chungnam Province.
About 50 foreigners increase every month, with many moving as family units. Accordingly, Sinchang-myeon responds to various civil complaints with the help of volunteer interpreters.
Tangjeong-myeon also saw its population nearly double from 24,910 in 2021 to 45,479 as of March, thanks to Samsung's large-scale investment announcement and favorable land development.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
