Hwacheon County to Distribute Rural Basic Income for the First Time on August 28... Expanding Outlets in Township Areas

Hwacheon County to Distribute 300,000 Won Per Person for July and August
Operating Mobile Marketplaces and Upgrading Local Supermarkets

Hwacheon County in Gangwon Province will distribute the rural basic income for the first time on August 28. To enhance convenience for residents, the county will significantly expand the number of outlets—especially in township areas where commercial infrastructure is relatively limited—where the payment can be used.

Kim Sehun, the governor of Hwacheon County, introduced Hwacheon County's operational plan at a meeting for the pilot project of basic income for farming and fishing villages held on the 20th at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs in Sejong City. Provided by Hwacheon County

The county plans to provide applicants with both the August payment and retroactively the July payment, totaling 300,000 won per person in either mobile local currency or prepaid cards. Once distribution begins, the county expects that an average of over 120 million won in local currency will circulate within the region each day.

To ensure that the basic income translates into practical consumption and revitalizes the local economy, the county is focusing on increasing the number of convenient local merchants in township areas.

First, using funds secured through the Rural Win-Win Cooperation Fund, the county will operate the "Hwacheon Golden Wagon"—a traveling marketplace. This mobile market serves 55 out of Hwacheon County’s 88 administrative villages that do not have any retail stores within a 1-kilometer radius, selling daily necessities and items pre-ordered by residents.

Next month, the county will survey resident demand and finalize routes before launching regular operations in October.

Old neighborhood supermarkets in township areas will also be identified and supported to improve their facilities and payment systems so they can be included as basic income merchants. The county is reviewing measures to expand service locations, such as resident-led pop-up markets, by analyzing best practices from ten other counties across the country that have already implemented rural basic income.

Hwacheon County is not only focusing on the stable operation of the basic income program, but is also urging the government to extend and institutionalize the pilot initiative.

On August 20, at the Rural Basic Income Pilot Project meeting held at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs in Sejong City, Kim Sehoon, mayor of Hwacheon County, stated, "Government attention and institutional support are urgently needed to ensure that the pilot project, which is scheduled to end at the end of next year, can continue."

Hwacheon County was additionally selected as a site for the Rural Basic Income Pilot Project on June 11. Even before the payments have begun, the region has seen an unusual increase in population, with the number of residents rising by over 500 in the past two months.

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