Ministry of SMEs and Startups Provides 430 Million Won Each to Boeun, Jindo, and Gochang to Foster Local Businesses

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 22nd that it has finalized the selection of three projects to participate in the "Collaborative Regional Local Economy Revitalization Pilot Project."

Signboard of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups in Sejong City. The Asia Business Daily DB

This initiative supports local companies in utilizing specialized resources to jointly develop products, strengthen design and branding, expand sales channels, and even connect with tourism and hands-on experience programs. The aim is to overcome the limitations of individual companies through collaboration, foster flagship local products, and create a new consumer base.

The selected regions are Boeun County in North Chungcheong Province, Jindo County in South Jeolla Province, and Gochang County in North Jeolla Province. Each region will receive a total of 430 million won, which will be used for product development, improvements in design and branding, expansion of online and offline sales, and the operation of festivals and experiential programs.

Boeun County will develop camping and glamping products and pet-friendly travel products using local specialties such as jujube and Korean beef. The plan is to evolve beyond simply selling specialty products and instead create stay-type tourism packages that encourage tourists to spend more time and money in the region.

Jindo County will bundle regional specialties such as turmeric, seaweed, and edible seaweed into a single joint brand product for sale. Gochang County will focus on developing processed foods and hands-on tourism products using its representative agricultural product, sweet potatoes. The region plans to connect local farms, food companies, and high-traffic sales and experience venues to create a structure where tourism consumption directly leads to increased sales for local businesses.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups will also dispatch design experts during project implementation to support design planning and brand strategy for each project. The goal is to help local specialties grow into nationally recognized flagship products, rather than remaining confined to local consumption.

An official from the Ministry commented, "The objective of this project is to increase the added value of local specialty products through collaboration among local businesses and to discover new models for revitalizing the local economy." The official added, "We plan to use successful cases as a catalyst for recovery in other regions experiencing population decline by spreading these models to those areas."

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