National project · Ministry of the Interior and Safety
Keen Korea · operated by HYEAN
Beyond Village — the youth village we build and run on the Baengma River.
Korea is answering rural depopulation with "youth villages", and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety commissioned HYEAN to build one. Beyond Village is a working riverside community in Buyeo where young people come back every month — to paddle, ride, repair and stay. Its second season is running now.
We reply within 24 hours.
A Ministry of the Interior and Safety commission
Youth Village (청년마을) is a national program of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety: each year it selects teams to build places where urban youth can live, work and put down roots in shrinking regions. HYEAN was selected for Buyeo and runs Beyond Village end to end — the plan, the spaces, the programs and the public reporting.
Built on the relationship-population model
The working idea is "relationship population" (관계인구), a policy concept Korea adopted from Japan: people who return to a place regularly, somewhere between tourist and resident. The village is built to give that return a reason — monthly paddle and riding crews, a repair lab, houses to stay in. In the first season, two participants settled in Buyeo.
Inside the village
What runs here, month after month
Everything below is designed and run by the same in-house team that plans our client programs.
Paddle crew — SUP on the Baengma River
A calm 16 km stretch of river, two to five metres deep — open water a beginner can actually enjoy. The crew paddles together one weekend a month through the season, with life vests on everyone and a safety boat on the water.
Riding crew — the Geum River bike path
Buyeo's 67.7 km section of the cross-country Geum River trail, ridden monthly. Riding is paired with bicycle-repair teaching, so the crew learns to keep its own wheels turning.
Beyond LAB — Repair & Reuse
A workshop where outdoor clothing and bicycles get fixed instead of replaced: repair classes at three levels and a second-hand cycle of buying in, mending and reselling.
Basecamp & Beyond House
Basecamp is the welcome centre, lab, café and guesthouse in one renovated riverside building. Beyond House is a share house for stays from a week to a month — the step between visiting and moving in.
Spare Day — the village market
A seasonal gathering where residents, members and visitors trade second-hand outdoor gear, repair things side by side, and talk about where the town is heading. Resident feedback is collected here, in person.
Season one
What the first season delivered
The first season (2025) delivered four living-local cohorts, opened two spaces, and ran exchange events that drew more than 4,700 people. Participants rated the season 4.5 out of 5, and 92% of surveyed residents said they want to keep working with the village.
- 4
- living-local cohorts in season one
- 4,700+
- people at exchange events
- 4.5 / 5
- participant satisfaction
- 3
- countries in the exchange network — Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia
Each season closes with a social-value assessment (SVI) built on participant, resident and stakeholder surveys — the same reporting discipline we bring to client programs.
For your program
How visiting groups use the village
Policy and regeneration study visits
See Korea's depopulation response while it runs: walk the spaces, sit down with the team that operates the commission, and meet the local officials involved. A natural block in a placemaking or government study tour.
Team-building and ESG programs
Corporate, university and institutional groups of 10 to 40 use the village for half-day to overnight programs — paddling on the river, repair workshops in the lab, meals from local kitchens. An ESG program your group does with its own hands.
Youth and international exchange hosting
The village has hosted international exchange since its first season, with working ties across Taiwan, Japan and Malaysia — including the government-sponsored Taiwan–Korea youth exchange we coordinate in Buyeo.
Tell us who's coming.
Government bodies, companies, universities and overseas travel partners brief us here. One coordinator replies — no call centre.
We reply within 24 hours.