The Paradox and Opportunity of Gochang’s De Facto Population: A Shrinking Population, People Still Gather

[Photo provided by Gochang Newspaper]

Gochang County is rapidly emptying out. Its population, which stood at 74,000 in 2000, had fallen by 31.6% to 50,716 as of May 2025. While the number of households has increased, the number of people per household has declined to just 1.78, and the share of the elderly population has reached a staggering 40.1%. Deaths outnumber births, young people are leaving, and the elderly either remain behind or pass away one by one.

In 2021, Gochang County was included among the 89 depopulation areas designated by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and its local extinction risk index (2023) stands at just 0.152—only one-fifth of the national average (0.7, caution for extinction). Every myeon area except Gochang-eup is classified as a high-risk extinction area, and population decline is accelerating alongside low birth rates and aging. In other words, villages are on the verge of disappearing.

The biggest problem is the outflow of young people. Over the past five years, there has been a net outflow of 1,957 people, with departures especially pronounced among those in their 20s to 40s. The reasons young people leave are clear: there are too few decent places to work, too few places to live, and an insufficient environment in which to raise children.

Yet there is an interesting point here. Although the resident population is shrinking, the number of people coming to Gochang is actually increasing. This is the “living population” (the resident population plus temporary stayers for commuting, schooling, tourism, and so on). Gochang County’s living population, which stood at around 240,000 in June 2023, surpassed 390,000 as of September 2024. That is eight times the registered resident population. The temporary-stay population alone exceeds 330,000, with an average stay of 2.4 days, an average of 3 overnight stays, and an average stay time of 12 hours. The main purposes are tourism and commuting, and nonlocals account for an overwhelming 76.1%.

In other words, Gochang is transforming into a “city where people do not live but frequently stay.” This is where the solution to Gochang’s population problem lies. Rather than focusing only on stopping people from leaving, efforts should be directed toward retaining those who come. Rather than concentrating solely on the fixed population, the county should invest in regular visits by the living population and in the possibility that they may eventually settle down.

Accordingly, I propose three strategies for expanding Gochang County’s living population. First is improving the conditions for young people to settle. Centered on the “Gochang Youth Future Master Plan,” the county should foster five strategic industries—smart agriculture, kimchi, food tech, world heritage tourism, and drones—to expand youth employment and startup opportunities, while also creating corporate experience and exhibition halls in each industrial complex, such as Heungdeok Industrial Complex–Hyundai General Finance and New Vitality Industrial Complex–Samsung Electronics Smart Hub Complex. The goal is to create a structure in which young people do not leave through a three-pronged policy linking education, housing, and jobs.

Second is expanding the tourism-oriented living population. This means improving transportation accessibility by attracting the West Coast railway and building the Noeul Bridge and the expressway between Namgochang and Sangha (Gusipo), while upgrading Gochang into a “stay-over tourist destination” by leveraging its World Cultural Heritage assets and specialty agricultural and food products, converting idle spaces into emotionally appealing lodging and workation sites, and expanding hotels and resorts.

Third is creating income sources beyond agriculture and expanding the basis for temporary settlement by foreigners and urban residents. Agri-photovoltaic projects using reclaimed farmland damaged by salinity can raise farmers’ supplementary income, and now is the time to strengthen the economic foundation by attracting an RE100 industrial complex. There is also a need to explore strategies for diversifying the local population, such as attracting foreigners tailored to local demand, strengthening settlement conditions for seasonal workers, and promoting rural study-abroad programs as a signature regional initiative.

Local extinction is not simply a matter of numbers. It is the failure of policies that have not grasped the changing flow of people. Rather than fixating only on the “fixed population,” the focus should now shift to the growing “living population.” Instead of merely worrying about a declining population, the county should welcome the people who are coming. This is precisely how Gochang can turn the crisis of local extinction into an opportunity.

Gwang yong Go

Policy Director, Center for Free Enterprise (CFE)

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Original title: 고창 생활인구의 역설과 기회: 사라지는 인구, 모여드는 사람

Author: Gwang yong Go

Date: 2025-06-30

Source: https://www.cfe.org/bbs/bbsDetail.php?cid=press&idx=27839