Jincheon has achieved quantitative growth under the catchphrase “Job Creation, a Top Welfare for Residents.”
The county and its residents are now going from win to win.
The following are the five so-called ‘miracles’ Jincheon has achieved.
Jincheon looks for 19th consecutive year of population growth
A barometer of evaluating any city is the study of its population.
Local governments across the country are grappling to solve population declines, since Korea has been suffering amid a “population cliff.”
Amid all of this, population is considered as an essential factor to determine each city’s survival.
Jincheon made history in becoming the only county outside the Seoul metropolitan area to see its population increase for 18 straight years.
The county saw population its surge 26,426 people to 86,537 residents over the time period.
A placard celebrating Jincheon’s population increase for 18 straight years hangs over the facade of the Jincheon County Building.
Surprisingly, Jincheon saw its birth rate stand at 1.12 persons last year.
The figure represents the highest in not only Chungcheongbuk-do, but also Chungcheongnam-do and the Chungcheong area, including Daejeon and Sejong.
The figure is compared to 0.75 persons, an increase of 0.029 persons, for the national combined birth rate during the same period, and 0.88 persons (a decline of 0.006 persons) in Chungcheongbuk-do.
Jincheon, looking to see population rise for the 19th consecutive year, has a very healthy population structure.
Jicheon’s Stable Livelihoods
The county has established a virtuous cycle of regional development, in which attracting investments, an increase in jobs and expanding settlement conditions lead to an increase in population and reinvestment.
Consequently, this has paid off: Jincheon attracted more than 1 trillion won annually for the past nine years - 14.03 trillion won in cumulative figures.
During the same period, employees soared by 19,200. Jincheon recorded 72.9 percent, the best-ever employment rate, in the first half of 2024, and ranked 1st among cities and counties, each with more than 50,000 economically active people.
Jincheon Expanding Its Connectivity via Seoul Metropolitan-Inland Railway
The still theoretical Seoul Metropolitan-Inland Railway would stretch 78.8 km in length, linking Dongtan, Anseong, Jincheon and Cheongju Airport.
The railway was reflected in the fourth national railway network construction plan in 2021.
Jincheon, Gyeonggi-do, Cheongju City, Hwaseong City and Anseong City joined forces to attract and build the railway.
A feasibility study on the railway passed in June 2024.
If the railway is completed, it would lead to more investment inflows with time space expansion, not only guiding Jincheon County’s sustainable growth, but also serving as a core driving force behind inclusive growth of Gyeonggi-do’s southern part, with no railway routes, and Chungcheongbuk-do’s central part.
Jincheon Aims to be 1st in Tourism Sector
Nongdari, also known as “Jincheon Stone Bridge,” attracted 1.72 tourists last year, a five-fold increase over the previous year.
Results of an analysis of the economic effects of the booming tourism industry showed that total spending last year was estimated at 65.7 billion won, plus 103.2 billion won in production induction effects, 35.4 billion won in value-added induction effects, and the creation of 1,249 jobs.
The rising number of tourists serves as an opportunity to change the paradigm of Jincheon’s industrial structure, in which the manufacturing industry accounts for 70 percent of the local economy.
The paradigm shift is owed to the county’s efforts to promote things to see, eat and enjoy in abundance, such as “Chopyeongho Mir 309 Chulleongdali (Suspension Bridge).”
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