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To support a wide range of research activities that contribute to achieving the SDGs, the Social Engagement Fund (SEF) program was launched in July of 2018. Students and researchers around the world were called to submit research and project proposals that emphasized implementing and evaluating the impact of the SDGs, which can also result in tangible outputs on top of knowledge alone. The entries were screened by a number of expert panels.

Mitigating the problem of local extinction through pilot operation of the Gyeongbuk theme city

Keyword : Local Extinction, Local Economy, Local Healthcare System

Date : 2023-07-27 | Read : 15,443

Local extinction is a concept that first emerged in a report released by Japanese sociologist Hiroya Masuda. And in Korea, it began to emerge as a social problem when Lee Sang-ho, head of the center, released the "Local Extinction Risk Index" in 2016. According to the 2014 "Masuda Report" by Hiroya Masuda, the governor of Iwate Prefecture, local extinction is a global problem that should be recognized not only from a spatial perspective of low birth rates and population decline but also regional inequality.

Local extinction is a global problem after modernization. The UK was criticized due to the severe income and infrastructure gap between southeast and central London. Low birth rate, aging population, and regional imbalance are also widening in Germany. East Germany has a low population density and traditionally there are a lot of rural areas. Meanwhile, there are a lot of large and medium-sized companies in the former West Germany region, and East Germany has faced serious population decline and outflow. The same is true for Korea.

The same is true for Korea. Concerns are growing over the decline of the local economy due to (1) the low birth rate and (2) the population decrease in rural areas. Mega City was expected to become a new growth engine in rural areas, but this policy eventually failed since it further accelerated the outflow of the surrounding local population. Local extinction can accelerate the collapse of local medical systems. In addition, as the population concentrates in certain areas, job and housing problems emerge, resulting in a vicious cycle in which the low birth rate and aging population accelerate further. Local extinction remains a national problem that is still difficult to solve.

The establishment of a balanced development policy that fosters the self-sustaining ability of local owners and increases the competitiveness of local autonomy enhances the sustainability of local cities. Therefore, this regional theme city design project aims to promote cooperation between regions and expand balanced regional development by promoting projects tailored to regional characteristics. This will achieve SDG 11 of creating resilient and sustainable cities and residences by enhancing the balanced national development effect by inducing residents' participation in the region and reviving the region through economic effects.