200,000 Won a Month Transforming the Rural Economy... Cheongsong's Basic Income Experiment in Full Swing

Beyond Stabilizing Residents' Livelihoods,

Aiming for a Virtuous Cycle of Local Consumption and Small Business Recovery

Preventing Capital Outflow with Local Currency Payments

Seeking a New Model to Counter Regional Depopulation

In response to the structural crisis of population decline and aging in rural areas, Cheongsong County of North Gyeongsang Province has introduced "rural basic income" as a new regional survival strategy.

This initiative goes beyond simply providing a set amount of welfare payments to residents. By linking basic income to a local currency, the plan aims to keep consumption within the region, thereby creating a virtuous cycle that boosts small business sales and revitalizes the local economy.

Cheongsong County Government Building [Photo by Byunggun Kwon]

Cheongsong County, having been selected as a pilot site for the Rural Basic Income program by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, is implementing a project that provides residents with a monthly basic income of 200,000 won using the local currency card called “Cheongsong Love Card.”

This basic income experiment is significant, as Cheongsong is facing a range of complex issues typical of non-metropolitan agricultural areas, such as rural population decline, youth outmigration, an aging population, and shrinking local markets.

The core of the basic income policy is not just "how much to pay." Another key objective is to create a structure where the funds distributed to residents are spent within local restaurants, traditional markets, retail shops, and service industries, and this consumption, in turn, becomes income for small business owners and the self-employed—ensuring that money circulates throughout the regional economy.

This is why the Cheongsong Love Card is used instead of cash. The goal is to minimize the outflow of basic income to metropolitan areas or large online retail outlets, thus focusing the policy's effects on the local economy by encouraging spending within the region.

From the resident's perspective, having a guaranteed monthly income can help reduce the burden of living expenses, while the local business sector can look forward to securing a stable consumer base—both of which are seen as potential benefits.

The growing attention to basic income in rural areas is largely due to the increasingly serious issue of regional depopulation.

Cheongsong County also faces challenges, such as limited infrastructure for jobs, education, healthcare, culture, and the outmigration of young people. The belief that traditional population policies, such as childbirth incentives and relocation grants, are not enough to fundamentally reverse the trend of population decline has contributed to the growing emphasis on basic income policies.

Accordingly, Cheongsong County is placing importance on expanding the scope of basic income beyond just stabilizing residents' livelihoods, aiming to use it as a policy to help people settle in the area.

The strategy involves linking basic income to other ongoing projects, such as expanding public rental housing for young people and workers, improving living conditions in vulnerable areas, and building tourism infrastructure, to create a settlement foundation where “income-housing-living environment-jobs” are interconnected.

The ripple effects on the local economy are also attracting attention. If basic income is provided regularly, residents' capacity for consumption is expected to increase to some extent, which may have a positive impact on traditional markets and neighborhood businesses. In particular, if spending is restricted to local affiliated stores, the increased distribution of local currency may also help curb the outflow of regional funds.

On the other hand, the sustainability of the program, securing financial resources, and the actual effect on increasing the population are issues that need to be validated moving forward.

It is necessary to objectively verify whether basic income leads to structural changes such as improved resident satisfaction, short-term consumption increases, youth retention, curbing outmigration, increased local business sales, and job creation.

Expanding local consumption options and reducing the disparity in benefits between affiliated stores are also important considerations. If the increased consumption driven by basic income is concentrated in just a few industries or key areas, the policy effects may not be evenly distributed throughout the region.

Yoon Kyunghee, Governor of Cheongsong County [Photo by Byeonggeon Kwon]

This is why Cheongsong County's basic income experiment is drawing attention. In a rural area where the population is declining, every single resident is more than just a statistic. Each resident is both a consumer and a member of the community, and forms the foundation for maintaining local infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, stores, and public transportation.

Ultimately, Cheongsong's basic income policy is less about simply "paying people to increase the population," and more about reinforcing the minimum economic foundation that enables residents to remain in the area, while channeling that spending back into the local economy as part of a new experiment in rural policy.

Cheongsong County plans to closely monitor changes in residents' consumption, circulation of the local currency, sales by small businesses, and population movement resulting from basic income, in order to improve the effectiveness of the program.

Attention is focused on whether rural basic income can move beyond one-time assistance to become a policy that simultaneously improves residents' lives, neighborhood businesses, and settlement conditions.

In an era of regional depopulation, preventing current residents from leaving has become as important as attracting new people. The “200,000 won per month experiment” starting in Cheongsong is becoming a test bed for gauging the sustainability of rural areas across South Korea.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.