South Korean regions expand ‘Geunyang Dream’ welfare project

South Korean local governments in Chungnam Province and Incheon are expanding the ‘Geunyang Dream’ project, a welfare initiative designed to provide immediate food and daily necessities to vulnerable citizens without requiring complex applications or income verification.

In Chungnam, the program has already served over 10,000 residents across 11 municipalities. By providing immediate aid through food banks and markets, the initiative acts as a gateway to deeper social services; through consultations, hundreds of individuals have been successfully linked to long-term public and private welfare support. The province plans to expand the program to all its municipalities by September.

Similarly, Incheon is expanding the project to all its districts and counties. Following a pilot phase that served approximately 4,000 citizens, the city is increasing its operational scale to 14 locations. Like the Chungnam model, Incheon uses the distribution of goods as an opportunity to conduct on-site consultations, helping to identify and connect crisis-stricken households to necessary social safety nets.