The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and Sejong City are collaborating to launch a project to revitalize vacant houses in rural areas on the outskirts of Sejong City. They plan to select three vacant rural houses and invest about 50 million won in each to repurpose them as shared houses, village art galleries, and more.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Sejong City, the Korea Real Estate Board, and the Foundation for Cooperation between Large Enterprises, SMEs, and Farmers and Fishermen signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the 23rd to promote the 'Rural Vacant House Regeneration Project.'
The rural vacant house regeneration project is a public-private partnership initiative by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Foundation for Cooperation to address the issue of vacant houses in rural areas.
The core of the project is discovering vacant houses that can be utilized by local governments, and breathing new life into them through public and private investment. It was first implemented last year in Haenam County, where eight vacant houses were remodeled and are currently being used as rental housing.
This year, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs selected Sejong City after reviewing applications from various local governments. In conjunction with Sejong City's own project 'Sejong Future Village Creation,' three vacant rural houses in Sejong will be remodeled and repurposed as shared houses, village art galleries, and experiential spaces for prospective returnees to rural areas.
The Foundation for Cooperation and the Real Estate Board will respectively provide 110 million won and 30 million won in support. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and Sejong City also plan to provide additional funds needed for refurbishing vacant houses through next year's 'Support for Regional Revitalization Using Rural Idle Facilities' project.
Kim So-hyeong, head of the Rural Regeneration Support Team of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, said, "Instead of leaving vacant houses in rural areas as eyesores, the key is to discover houses with potential for use and enhance their utilization. In the coming year, we plan to actively respond to rural depopulation by promoting various new projects related to the utilization of vacant houses and adding private sector creativity and diversity."