BARRIERS TO GROWTH
Despite stronger spending at local businesses, attracting jobs and investment remains a challenge.
Just outside Yeoncheon town, an industrial park remains largely empty, with the occupancy rate hovering at 29 per cent three years after its completion.
Yeoncheon’s Mayor Kim Deog-hyun said the monthly vouchers alone may encourage some residents to stay put, but the scheme itself is not enough to “fundamentally determine population trends”.
“We need to create a good living environment. Young people especially need jobs. That means attracting companies to the area,” he said.
Kim said military restrictions on the county, which borders North Korea, have made development difficult.
“The entire county is larger than Seoul and about 94 per cent of its land is subject to military protection zone regulations. There are many restrictions on construction and development.”
Yeoncheon’s experience suggests reviving South Korea’s rural communities may require more than government benefits.
Across South Korea, 69 county-level areas are officially classified as being at risk of extinction because of shrinking and ageing populations.
While the rural basic income pilot has boosted local spending in participating counties, whether it can reverse decades of rural decline remains an open question.
In Okcheon, however, supporters say the programme has already become part of everyday life.
Residents have even coined a name for the day the monthly vouchers are distributed, said Hwang.
“As the elderly here put it, our ‘basic income day’ is the 27th of every month,” he said.
“On the 27th, 28th and 29th, the sound of delivery motorcycles fills the streets. That’s how much this programme has helped the local economy.”