The Korea Times
As the specter of population decline looms over the aging rural areas of Northeast Asia, Korean and Japanese officials are undergoing a radical architectural reimagining of the countryside by turning entire dying villages into decentralized hotels. This week, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs convened a two-day "Rural Empty House Regeneration Forum" in Myeongyeong, North Gyeongsang Province, bringing together local policymakers and private innovators to exchange notes on the growing crisis of abandoned properties. The guest of honor was Shunpei Shimada, CEO of Satoyume Corp., a Japanese consulting firm dedicated to regional revitalization, and the mastermind behind the Kosuge Village hotel project, which has become a regional benchmark for rural regeneration. The "village hotel" concept rejects the traditional resort model of a single, massive building. Instead, the community itself functions as the hotel. An abandoned house becomes the reception desk, another is transformed into a luxury guest suite, the local public bath serves as the spa, and neighborhood residents
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