The Village That Built Its Own Future: Sehwa, Jeju Island, the Republic of Korea
Challenges
Sehwa Village located on Jeju Island is confronted with a combination of demographic and cultural pressures common to coastal rural areas: population decline, an aging resident base, and a reduction in the number of Jeju Haenyeo1 (women free-divers) whose practice is central to Jeju Island’s identity and intangible heritage.
This Haenyeo culture of Jeju was recognized for its value and was inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list on 30 November 20162.
However, records show that the number of Jeju Haenyeo was about 23,000 in 1965 but declined to 2,623 in 2024. Cultural assets such as the Haenyeo way of life and the batdam dry-stone field system3 retained immense value, yet their contribution to local livelihoods was constrained by fragmented tourism offerings, limited resident consensus on how to mobilize culture for development, and a lack of organizational capacity to design and deliver high-quality visitor experiences.
The core challenge, therefore, was to build a community-owned, consensus-based governance and operating platform capable of activating cultural and natural assets, investing in human capacity, and reinvesting revenues in shared spaces and programs.
Results
Sehwa’s transformation began with a deliberate effort to build community consensus and formalize collective action.
This process led to the creation of a resident-owned cooperative, which was founded by 477 members and accumulated KRW 272 million (USD 186,000) in initial resident investment capital, the largest village cooperative in the Republic of Korea. The cooperative has since become a central mechanism for transparent decision-making, benefit sharing, and reinvestment, aligning individual entrepreneurship with community-wide goals.
Programmatically, the cooperative organized around three reinforcing pillars. First, it developed experience-based products that highlight Sehwa’s unique cultural and natural heritage, including Haenyeo heritage programs that interpret free-diving culture respectfully, shoreline and batdam4 walking routes that explore the agricultural stone-wall system, and wellness itineraries at Darangshi Oreum5 that combine light activity, interpretation of volcanic landscapes, and mindful engagement with nature. As a result, the average length of stay at Sehwa Stay has increased notably, rising from two nights and three days among 380 lodging guests in 2021 to three nights and four days among 1,100 guests in 2024.
Second, the cooperative advanced adaptive reuse of existing public infrastructure assets. Rather than building new infrastructure developments, residents transformed the former general welfare center into the Jilgeuraengi Community Hub, a multi-functional space with café, meeting rooms, guesthouses, and co‑working amenities tailored for workcation users6.
Third, the cooperative invested in human capacity by offering financial assistance and micro-scholarships for residents to obtain certifications in free-diving safety, lifesaving, and boat operation.
As a result, visitor numbers grew from 534 in 2021 to 41,978 in 2024, a 7,761% increase. While cooperative revenue increased from KRW 95 million (USD 65,720) in 2021 to KRW 610 million (USD 422,000) in 2024, a 542% increase over three years7. More important than growth alone, governance and programming drew in original residents, migrants, women, and youth, broadening participation and embedding skills within the community.
Lessons Learned
The Sehwa governance model demonstrates that by building resident consensus and forming transparent cooperatives, rural communities can reuse existing public assets, build capacities of local guides, and design tourism experiences that celebrate living heritage while strengthening social wellbeing.
Financing and partnerships played catalytic roles in the cooperative’s continued success and longevity. The cooperative secured significant support from local and national governments to seed product development and facility upgrades, while aligning with the Jeju Tourism Organization (JTO) on destination branding, responsible visitor management, and market access.
However, one key challenge was that excessive concentration of resources on physical infrastructure resulted in relatively insufficient investment in product and experience development, limiting diversification and innovation in tourism-related components.
Sehwa’s journey affirms that community ownership, not just community participation, is decisive to achieve sustainable tourism outcomes.
Together, these elements illustrate that Sehwa’s model thrives where inclusive governance, institutional partnerships, and circular resource use intersect, anchoring tourism within community values and long‑term sustainability.
- In Jeju Island, there is a community of women free-divers, some aged in their 80s, which goes diving 10m under the sea to gather shellfish, such as abalone or sea urchins for a living without the help of oxygen masks. DOI: https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/culture-of-jeju-haenyeo-women-divers-01068
- https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/culture-of-jeju-haenyeo-women-divers-01068
- Batdam, black stone fences, are the result of the ingenuity of Jeju inhabitants to survive in a windy, volcanic Island. Utilizing the stones, 22,000 kilometers of fences have been built and have survived natural disasters for over 1,000 years. It prevents winds, loss of soil, and preserves the agricultural culture of Jeju. https://www.fao.org/giahs/giahs-around-the-world/korea-jeju-batdam-agricultural-system/en
- Batdam, black stone fences, are the result of the ingenuity of Jeju inhabitants to survive in a windy volcanic Island. Utilizing the stones, 22,000 kilometer of fences have been built and has survived natural disasters for over 1,000 years. It prevents winds, loss of soil and preserves the agricultural culture of Jeju. https://www.fao.org/giahs/giahs-around-the-world/korea-jeju-batdam-agricultural-system/en
- Located the Northeastern part of Jeju Island, Darangswi Oreum is a parasitic volcano that stands about 380 meters above sea level
- Invest Korea. (2024, January 8). Workation at Jilgeuraengi Gujwa Center. https://www.investkorea.org/jj-en/bbs/i-1536/detail.do?ntt_sn=36
- Sehwa Village Cooperative revenue data
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