1️⃣ Local Extinction Crisis: Why discuss it now?
Villages where the sound of children's laughter is absent, and alleys where empty houses are increasing. The term 'Local Extinction' that we often encounter in the news is no longer a warning for the distant future, but a reality right at our doorstep. While the metropolitan area suffers from housing shortages and intense competition due to overcrowding, local provinces face a situation where it is difficult to maintain basic infrastructure like hospitals, schools, and shops due to population decline.
This imbalance is not just a regional problem. It is like a massive wave that weakens the national competitiveness and increases social costs. However, opportunity is always hidden within a crisis. The reason we must deeply understand and care about balanced regional development and the Regional Leap Fund now is that this is the task of redrawing the map of South Korea's future where our children will live.
2️⃣ Analyzing the Reality of Population Decline and Rural Areas
The biggest cause of local extinction lies in the 'triple threat' of a rapid low birth rate, an aging population, and the outflow of youth to the metropolitan area. As young people leave in search of jobs, local areas lose vitality, which in turn creates a vicious cycle where companies avoid investing in these regions. According to data from Statistics Korea, nearly half of the nation's cities, counties, and districts are already classified as 'extinction risk areas.'
- Population Dead Cross Phenomenon: The natural decline, where the number of deaths exceeds the number of births, is progressing even more steeply in local provinces.
- Deepening of the Seoul-Centric Unipolar System: As high-quality jobs and cultural infrastructure concentrate in the metropolitan area, local provinces are losing their function beyond mere residential areas.
- Collapse of Living Infrastructure: As the population decreases, the quality of life drops sharply, with public transportation routes being abolished and emergency rooms disappearing.
3️⃣ Regional Leap Fund and Balanced Development Strategies
What is the Regional Leap Fund?
To actively respond to the crisis of local extinction, the government has established the 'Regional Leap Fund' worth 1 trillion won annually, providing support for 10 years. This is not a top-down method where the central government unilaterally allocates a budget, but a bottom-up structure where each local government establishes an investment plan suited to local conditions, which is then evaluated for differential support. In other words, it encourages regions to find creative solutions themselves.
Introduction of Megacities and the 'Living Population' Concept
The 'Megacity' strategy, which connects hub cities beyond administrative boundaries, and the concept of 'Living Population', which includes not only registered residents but also people who stay in the region for commuting, schooling, or tourism, have been introduced. This is a practical approach to promote economic vitality by increasing the number of people who have a relationship with the region, beyond simply increasing the resident population.
Successful Local Innovation Cases
Projects such as the 'Neighbor-Cousin Pilot Village' in Uiseong, Gyeongbuk, and the 'Youth Village Making' project in Jeonnam are good examples of the Regional Leap Fund combined with local government efforts. Region-specific content, such as nurturing young farmers through smart farms and establishing workation centers to attract digital nomads from cities, is becoming the key to local revitalization.
4️⃣ Practical Actions and Applications We Can Take
- Actively participate in the Hometown Donation System: By donating to your hometown or a local government you want to support, you can receive tax benefits along with local specialties as a thank-you gift. This is a great help to local finances.
- Becoming a 'Relationship Population' (5-days city, 2-days rural): Maintain a continuous relationship with rural areas through a lifestyle of spending 5 days in the city and 2 days in the country, or through weekend farming and workations.
- Support Local Creators and Local Food: Purchasing local brand products that create value using local resources and consuming local agricultural products is the start of the local economic cycle.
2️⃣ Understanding Core Insights at a Glance
The problem of local extinction is not a simple battle of population numbers. It is a process of redefining space and restructuring the quality of life. We grasp the essence of the problem through core insights.
The Golden Time is Right Now
Demographers warn that the next 10 years are the last 'golden time' to prevent local extinction. With the retirement of the baby boomer generation and the increasing demand for returning to rural areas, creating attractive settlement conditions is urgent.
Why should we move now?
If an appropriate response system is not established now, the collapse of local infrastructure will accelerate, and we may enter an irreversible stage. This leads to an increased tax burden for the entire nation.
Transition from Hardware to Software
If hardware-centric development, such as laying roads and constructing buildings, was dominant in the past, 'people' and 'content' to fill those spaces are now important. People will gather only when software infrastructure such as culture, education, and medical services is in place.
Points for Readers to Keep in Mind
Simply moving to a rural area is not the only solution. Visiting frequently, purchasing local goods, and showing interest as a 'relationship population' becomes a powerful force that revitalizes local provinces.
5️⃣ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
💡 Practical Tip
Instead of vaguely dreaming of returning to a rural area, apply for 'Live for a week' or 'Live for a month' programs operated by local governments. It's the best opportunity to experience in advance if that area fits your lifestyle while receiving support for accommodation and experience fees.
Everyone must stay alert and seize the opportunity."
⚠️ Important Note
The Regional Leap Fund should not be wasted on simply constructing flashy buildings or holding one-off festivals. We need the eyes of citizens to meticulously scrutinize and monitor whether these are substantial programs that local residents can continuously benefit from and whether they are sustainable businesses.
6️⃣ Closing Message
The local extinction crisis is a task we must solve together and a growing pain toward a better South Korea. The purpose of the Regional Leap Fund and balanced development policies goes beyond simple support; it aims to help each region regain its unique color and develop self-sustainability.
As the saying goes, "It takes a whole village to raise a child," saving local provinces requires the interest and affection of the entire nation. Our small weekend trips, donations to our hometowns, and consumption of local food can come together to reignite the fading embers of rural areas.
Why not find your 'second hometown' in your heart right now and express a little interest? We cheer for the warm spring days of our local provinces together.
- Local extinction crisis is a national challenge combining population decline and metropolitan concentration.
- The 1 trillion won annual Regional Leap Fund supports locally led, customized projects.
- Expanding the 'Relationship Population' that connects with regions is as important as the resident population.
- Small individual actions like hometown donations and local consumption form the foundation for balanced development.
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