Preventing Local Extinction Through National Heritage

Comprehensive Plan to Revitalize Local Economies
Three Strategies for Addressing Regional Decline
New Value Creation, Community-Based Protection, and Advanced Preservation Systems

A comprehensive plan has been established to address the risk of local extinction by utilizing cultural, natural, and intangible heritage.

Yonhap News Agency

On August 21, the National Heritage Administration announced the "National Heritage Response Strategy for Regions at Risk of Extinction," stating its intention to revitalize local economies and promote the inflow of resident populations through national heritage. This strategy was introduced amid the accelerating hollowing-out of local areas due to population concentration in the Seoul metropolitan area. The aim is to overcome shrinking consumption and the deterioration of living conditions through tourism and experiential programs utilizing national heritage, as well as urban regeneration projects.

The strategy, with the vision of "Reviving Regions through National Heritage," is divided into three main categories. The first is the creation of new value for regional development based on national heritage. By expanding stay-type content such as night-specialized programs and workations, the strategy seeks to attract more resident populations. The resident population includes people who live or stay in a specific area and carry out daily life there, including visitors who stay for more than three hours at least once a month for tourism or leisure purposes. New value initiatives also include the development of local specialties based on intangible heritage and models linking tourism and industry. The plan aims to rationally improve various regulations and expand support for nearby residents to strengthen tangible benefits.

The second category is the establishment of a national heritage system jointly protected by local communities and residents. To enhance the management capabilities of local governments, professional personnel will be assigned and relevant training will be strengthened. When assigning professionals, various support measures will be provided, such as incentives in public contest projects and national subsidies, as well as rewards for outstanding personnel. The strategy also includes fostering a public-private partnership model of "National Heritage Village Enterprises" in which local residents participate directly. By establishing a comprehensive foundation for protection and utilization that includes local and non-designated heritage, the plan aims to diversify national heritage utilization projects and promote balanced regional development.

Yonhap News

The third category is the establishment of a meticulous national heritage preservation and management system. A central command center for national heritage management will be established, and legal and institutional frameworks for integrated management of regional national heritage will be developed to address imbalances in local finances and management personnel. The plan also calls for establishing preservation and management systems utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) to resolve the shortage of management personnel, and for strengthening research and development of unmanned management systems and climate change damage detection technologies to achieve innovation in national heritage preservation and management.

The National Heritage Administration stated, "We will cooperate with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Committee for the Local Era, local governments, and others to ensure that national heritage serves as a key asset for revitalizing local economies and to establish a virtuous cycle of preservation and utilization." The response strategy is available for public viewing on the National Heritage Administration website.

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