Jangseong-gun's Population Growth Policy Achievements Draw Attention

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Jangseong-gun, Jeollanam-do, is seeing results from its population increase policies.

According to Jangseong-gun on the 20th, as of December last year, the county's population recorded 46,818, a decrease of 82 from the previous year. The resident registration population decline rate was -0.12%, the lowest among county-level local governments in the province, and the fourth lowest among the 22 cities and counties in Jeollanam-do.

Also, last year, the number of in-migrants exceeded out-migrants by 174, and the total fertility rate (1.78) ranked 4th nationwide (Statistics Korea 2018 birth statistics). The total fertility rate refers to the average number of children a woman is expected to have during her childbearing years.

The increase in the population returning to farming and rural areas is also notable. Over the past three years, Jangseong-gun has seen an average annual increase of more than 1,000 people returning to farming and rural living. Since 2010, about 7,320 people have moved into the county for farming and rural resettlement, accounting for 15% of Jangseong's population.

So far, Jangseong-gun has pooled administrative and financial resources to implement the ‘Salmon Project’ to solve population issues. The Salmon Project is Jangseong’s unique population policy aimed at creating an attractive hometown to attract people from other regions.

Last year, under the vision of ‘Building Yellow City Jangseong, a place where people want to live and visit,’ four areas were set: ▲forming new population flows ▲supporting youth independence, marriage, and childcare ▲creating jobs tailored to generations and regions ▲improving living conditions and revitalizing local communities, with 30.44 billion KRW invested in 82 policy projects.

This year, Jangseong-gun plans to focus on the ‘youth’ as the main target of its population policy and expand related projects.

The county will promote youth support policies including housing and employment assistance, ▲activation of youth councils ▲operation of customized consultation desks for youth support policies ▲and discovery of new youth support initiatives.

Additionally, policies to make Jangseong a ‘good place to have children’ will be strengthened. From this year, various projects such as eco-friendly agricultural product delivery services for pregnant women will be implemented.

A ‘Settlement Support Project for New Returning Farmers’ who have moved in within the last five years will also be promoted. Planned support projects include ▲agricultural settlement support (facility installation and repair costs) ▲support for excellent startup farmers among returning farmers (related to processing, distribution, and experiential activities in the 6th industry) ▲and activation of farming startups (support for farming-related startups and businesses).

Furthermore, the ‘Visiting Resident Registration Team’ operating for Sangmu-da soldiers since last year plans to sign MOUs with industrial complex councils this year to actively discover new residents.

Yoo Doo-seok, Jangseong County Governor, said, “Jangseong-gun is facing a breakthrough opportunity for population inflow with projects such as the confirmed 5th LH rental housing project in Buk-myeon, the establishment of the National Cardiovascular Center, and the creation of Deokseong Happiness Village. We will make 2020 the golden time for population recovery in Jangseong-gun and discover and implement diverse and effective population policies.”

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