[비즈한국] On September 8, as the ENA Monday-Tuesday drama "Deserter Pursuit 4: Sabotage" covered an episode inspired by an actual incident that took place in Yanggu, Gangwon Province 15 years ago, the label "Yanggu = A Rip-off City" was branded onto the area once again. However, the current reality of Yanggu’s commercial sector and population is quite different from this image-based debate. The true problem in Yanggu is not just that soldiers' wallets have tightened, but that both soldiers and residents are leaving.
The incident that inspired the drama took place in March 2011. Two soldiers on leave got into an argument after bumping shoulders with a group of high school students and were collectively assaulted, with one diagnosed with a facial fracture requiring six weeks of treatment. The situation escalated when it was revealed that the same students had injured four other soldiers that February. The overseeing division, furious, took the extreme measure of completely banning all leave and outings for the entire force, causing the downtown commercial sector—which relied on the soldiers' spending—to freeze instantly. While the student perpetrators were put on trial, the image of a "rip-off city" has persisted to this day.
Cases of "overcharging" soldiers have also been a consistent issue. In 2020, a controversy arose when a Chinese restaurant allegedly charged a soldier on leave 500 won for pickled radishes and 1,500 won for an extra serving of noodles on top of the meal price. Stories have also circulated persistently about taxis charging for a round trip rather than a one-way fare, or of "so-called military prices" being applied only to soldiers at barbershops and restaurants. Local residents themselves have admitted that in the days when the restricted area system prevented soldiers from leaving the town, some businesses raised prices, thinking, "They have nowhere else to go anyway."
Coincidentally, on September 7, one day before the drama aired, the Yanggu County government began accepting applications for its second facility modernization support project for small business owners in border areas. The project provides up to 16 million won per business—covering up to 80% of project costs—to about five businesses. This includes everything from wallpapering and painting to replacing aging equipment, with bonus points given to businesses frequented by soldiers, "model businesses," and "good-price businesses." The intent is to help small business owners suffering from management difficulties due to shrinking consumption and economic recession in border regions. While the old stigma revived by the drama and the support measures released by the county office at this time may seem unrelated, they are actually two symptoms stemming from the same root: a commercial sector that can no longer rely on soldiers' spending like it used to.
“Closing the stable after the horse has bolted…” A commercial sector that refuses to recover
Yanggu was a military city from its birth. As one of the fiercest battlegrounds of the Korean War, it remained a frontline border area after the armistice, with military units and soldiers' families residing there to serve as the consumption base for the local economy. A critical blow to this structure was the disbandment of the Army's 2nd Infantry Division in December 2021. At that time, approximately 5,600 troops left the area, and the estimated annual economic loss felt by the region is around 90 billion won.
One motel owner lamented the difficulty, saying that while all 13 rooms used to be booked on weekends, now they barely fill two. An owner of a 100-seat PC bang (internet cafe) said revenue was cut in half, forcing them to reduce part-time staff from two to one. Many restaurants and clothing stores that catered to soldiers have shut down entirely, and merchants feel that the foot traffic in town has dropped by about 40% compared to the past.
It is not the case that Yanggu still maintains rip-off prices. In 2019, a tweet claiming "Yanggu PC bangs cost 2,100 won per hour" went viral, leading to suspicions of price-fixing, but the actual average rate confirmed by the Yanggu County office in cooperation with the local PC bang association and the Gangwon Price Information Network was 1,443 won per hour. While this was indeed an 8% increase from the previous month, it was far from the rumors. It was a case of the actual commercial issues and poorly grounded rumors mixing together, causing the negative image to solidify first.
The only large-scale unit remaining in Yanggu now is the 21st Infantry Division, which has its headquarters in Yanggu-eup. The problem is that even the remaining troops do not spend as much in the area as they once did. With the abolition of the restricted area system, soldiers are no longer confined to the town during leave or outings and can go straight to Chuncheon or Seoul. Consequently, consumption does not remain within the region but leaks directly to other cities. With soldiers now able to use smartphones freely, the number of visitors coming to see them has also decreased significantly.
Around 2020, Yanggu County implemented measures to promote mutual growth with soldiers, such as strengthening price labeling and monitoring, and this autumn, it has once again launched support for small business facility improvements. However, it is not easy for local government measures alone to reverse the trend of decreasing troop numbers and the shift of even the remaining soldiers' consumption to outside the region.
8 years of 3,000 people leaving, and the calculations of those who remain
A more fundamental indicator than the commercial sector is the population. As of January this year, the registered population of Yanggu County was 20,373, a decrease of 3,035 people over 8 years compared to 23,408 in 2018. Of that total, 646 people have left in the last two years alone. This means the rate of decline is actually accelerating. It aligns with the downward trend that has followed the recent peak of 24,089 in 2015.
The county and the local council point to two main causes. One is the natural decline where deaths outnumber births, and the other is social outflow, with the youth leaving the region for jobs and education. On top of this is the trend of soldiers and their families leaving due to military unit reorganization. Looking at the population in their 20s alone, it dropped by 199 last year to 2,216. This means that both the potential consumer base for local commerce and the labor force are thinning out.
This decline cannot be seen solely as the fate of a military city. Yanggu County has created space for youth technology startups, provides support for equipment to produce prototypes, and invests budgets in attracting people moving from urban to rural areas and improving living conditions. However, these policies are currently only at a level that slows the pace of population decline, not reversing the trend itself. The region itself assesses that "without comprehensive improvements to living foundations such as jobs, housing, education, and medical care, it is difficult to find a fundamental solution through short-term policies alone." This means that while its identity as a military city is faltering, other industrial foundations to take its place have yet to take firm root.
220,000 visitors to festivals, but a reason to stay must be created first
As the economy relying on troops falters, the alternative chosen by Yanggu County is tourism. The county is clearly moving in a direction to make up for the lost consumption capacity due to the disbandment of the 2nd Division with "life-related populations" (people who visit or stay) rather than permanent residents. It is shifting the focus of its policy toward increasing visitors and long-term stays, such as expanding tourism infrastructure in the Hanbando Island and Dongsu-ri areas and creating a comprehensive sports town.
It is not without results. This year, the Gomchi (mountain herb) Festival (May) saw 102,000 visitors, the Baekkob (Navel) Festival (August) saw 71,000, and the Punch Bowl Dried Radish and Apple Festival (October) saw 47,000, with all three major festivals recording their highest number of visitors ever. The number of visitors to the Gomchi Festival increased by 21.8% compared to the same month last year, the highest growth rate among 18 cities and counties in Gangwon Province.
However, the 220,000 people who visit for a day for a festival and the population that actually spends money and sleeps in this city are different issues. Just as soldiers left, taking their spending outside the region following the abolition of the restricted area system, festival visitors are also highly likely to come for a day trip and spend their money elsewhere. While the number of visitors itself can demonstrate the promotional success of the local government, how much of that money actually remains in the local commercial sector and translates into revenue for lodging and restaurants is a separate issue. If tourism repeats the problem the military economy suffered—a structure where people pass through but money does not stay—then festivals, too, will be difficult to serve as a replacement.
The true task Yanggu faces lies in how to convert the consumption structure that relies on specific mobile populations—whether they are troops or tourists—into added value that remains within the region. The image of a "rip-off city" reignited by the drama is closer to the result of this structural problem than its cause. In a city where customers are decreasing due to troop reductions, population outflow, and the abolition of restricted areas, if even the remaining customers close their wallets because of the image, the commercial sector shrinks twice over.
The total population of the four border counties—Yanggu, Inje, Cheorwon, and Hwacheon—is only about 102,000. Given that all four are facing the same changes in defense policy and population decline, this is not a unique situation for Yanggu, but a homework assignment that the entire border region must solve together. It is pointed out that what Yanggu needs now is not PR to clear its name, but to create a structure where money can stay in the region no matter who visits. In the end, it is no different for soldiers, tourists, or young people: they will only come back if they have a reason to stay in this city.