This year, Taebaek in Gangwon Province, Jeungpyeong in North Chungcheong Province, and 10 other locations have been selected as sites for the Regional Vitality Town project. This area is expected to be developed as a mixed space that combines housing, living infrastructure, and services to prevent local extinction.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 21st that it had collaborated with seven relevant ministries, including the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Interior and Safety, to conduct a public offering for the 2025 Regional Vitality Town project and ultimately selected 10 projects.
The Regional Vitality Town project aims to create mixed spaces by combining housing, living infrastructure, and services to improve local living conditions and support actual population inflow and settlement, in collaboration with eight ministries. It was introduced last year, 2023.
This year, following the start of the public offering in March, written evaluations, site evaluations, and comprehensive evaluations were conducted, leading to the final selection of ▲ Taebaek in Gangwon Province ▲ Jeungpyeong in North Chungcheong Province ▲ Buyeo and Cheongyang in South Chungcheong Province ▲ Sunchang and Jangsu in North Jeolla Province ▲ Gangjin and Yeongam in South Jeolla Province ▲ Yecheon in North Gyeongsang Province ▲ and Hadong in South Gyeongsang Province.
Taebaek in Gangwon Province, Jeungpyeong in North Chungcheong Province, Buyeo in South Chungcheong Province, Gangjin and Yeongam in South Jeolla Province, and Yecheon in North Gyeongsang Province plan to establish a basis for regional settlement by creating a living environment linked to jobs nearby and providing living services.
Taebaek is in the process of developing an industrial complex related to clean energy, and to attract and settle the relevant workforce, it plans to construct 44 rental housing units. A senior-friendly national sports center will also be established.
Jeungpyeong has the second general industrial complex and Doan Techno Valley nearby, and plans to create 50 units of apartments and 20 townhouses for young workers linked to jobs. To establish a foundation for youth settlement, it intends to provide living services through projects such as fostering local creators.
Buyeo plans to create 100 worker's secure stay units for workers and youth from the metropolitan area, as well as build a worker support center and a national sports center, to provide stable working conditions.
Gangjin will supply 60 units of apartments and 10 townhouses utilizing the site of the former Seonghwa University campus. It plans to create a living support center to promote youth employment and entrepreneurship support, and grow local small businesses. In Yeongam, 44 standalone townhouses will be supplied on land developed through an urban development project, and infrastructure for an eco-friendly smart residential complex will be established to create an excellent living environment.
Yecheon, adjacent to the urban advanced industrial complex, has a strong demand for population inflow, and plans to provide a diverse living infrastructure by constructing rental housing for youth and newlyweds and building a child-friendly national sports center.
Cheongyang in South Chungcheong Province and Jangsu in North Jeolla Province will establish a sports development foundation reflecting the regional characteristics and create settlement and stay-type housing spaces for regional branding. Cheongyang plans to focus on the training of table tennis teams in elementary, middle, and high schools through the creation of a family stay-type housing complex with 35 units, as well as the construction of a multi-purpose welfare center and a dedicated table tennis training facility.
Jangsu will provide 80 housing units linked to mountain leisure and wellness cultural content utilizing the clean mountain natural environment. Plans include the creation of community and shared kitchen centers to establish a vibrant town for stay-settlement settlement.
Sunchang in North Jeolla Province plans to build a total of 78 units, including public rentals and standalone houses, targeting urban retirees, young workers, and returnees. It will utilize demand-customized care and education linkage projects, such as customized care for the elderly and job support for youth, to create a village that ensures quality of life.
Hadong in South Gyeongsang Province plans to create a residential complex based on income by linking the rural caring farm project with the creation of 26 eco-pool village units, a four-season berry farm, and a strawberry processing support center utilizing the regional specialized resource of strawberries.
The government will support the infrastructure development of the selected projects with a maximum of 2 billion won in national funding. To maximize project effects, the relevant local governments will be supported autonomously by the projects chosen.
The central government agencies responsible for the linked projects, including the Ministry of Land, are planning to sign agreements between local governments after deliberation by the Local Era Committee by October this year, and will invest in projects for up to four years to develop infrastructure by 2028.
Kim Ji-yeon, Director of Land Policy at the Ministry of Land, said, "Now is the time for the government and local governments to collaborate to overcome the crisis of local extinction and inject vitality into the region," and emphasized that the Ministry of Land will actively promote regional revitalization by collaborating with related ministries, including the Ministry of Interior and Safety, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.