DistantNews
Support us
🇰🇷 South Korea /Energy & Infrastructure

Six Years After Boryeong Thermal Power Plant Closure... 'Every Other House is Empty'

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Six years after the closure of the Boryeong Thermal Power Plant, the nearby Gipeungol village is largely deserted, with more than half of its houses standing empty.
  • The plant's closure in 2020 led to significant job losses and population outflow, shrinking the village's population and forcing the closure of local amenities like the elementary school.
  • Despite plans for renewable energy projects, the transition is slow, and the lack of comprehensive national support for 'just transition' leaves communities like Boryeong struggling, with residents and businesses facing an uncertain future.

The village of Gipeungol, adjacent to the former Boryeong Thermal Power Plant in South Chungcheong Province, stands as a somber testament to the economic and social consequences of industrial closure. Hankyoreh's visit reveals a community where empty houses now outnumber occupied ones, a stark visual representation of the 'regional extinction crisis.' Resident Yoo Geum-dan's poignant walk through the village, pointing out vacant homes and recalling departed neighbors, underscores the profound sense of loss and abandonment.

Here too, it's an empty house, and here, he passed away from stomach cancer two months ago.

· Yoo Geum-danDescribing the prevalence of empty houses in Gipeungol village.

The closure of the Boryeong plant in December 2020, a facility that once represented economic vitality, has accelerated population decline and job losses in the region. The local economy, heavily reliant on the plant which accounted for about 30% of Boryeong's GDP, has been severely impacted. The shrinking population has led to the closure of essential services, including the local elementary school, further diminishing the area's viability for remaining residents.

In this neighborhood, there are more empty houses than inhabited ones.

· Yoo Geum-danHighlighting the severe depopulation of the village.

While Boryeong was selected as a pilot city for a public-led offshore wind power complex, the transition is fraught with delays. The lack of necessary infrastructure, such as a robust power grid, and the dissolution of local energy support organizations highlight a broader issue: the gap between the rhetoric of 'energy transition' and the practical realities of implementation. The article criticizes the insufficient national-level planning and the stalled legislation for 'just transition,' which promises protection for vulnerable groups. This leaves communities like Boryeong in a state of 'each fending for themselves,' struggling to adapt to a future where their economic backbone has been removed without adequate support.

The closure of the power plant accelerated 'employment reduction and population outflow' in the Boryeong area.

Summarizing the impact of the plant's closure.
About this summary

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog