Worxphere and Cheil Seoul launch JOBSTAY Project to bring youth back to Korea’s regions

To solve regional decline, Korea’s leading job search platform Worxphere and Cheil Seoul have launched, JOBSTAY Project, a new initiative enabling young people to stay in areas facing labor shortages where they can work, travel, and experience the region’s charm.

Korea is the country with the world’s highest concentration of its economy, jobs, population, and infrastructure in the capital area. With 52% of the nation’s youth concentrated in Seoul, regional areas face a severe outflow of young people, making it difficult to find workers. Worxphere and Cheil aim to solve the problem of young workforce shortage in regional areas and contribute to urban regeneration.

The client’s first-party data played a decisive role in planning the project. By analyzing data such as regions with fewer job seekers in their 20s, a high rate of unfilled positions after job postings, and among those, regions where people in their 20s want to live, three regions were selected where young labor is most urgently needed, and the risk of regional extinction is high. One of the selected regions, Busan, for example, had the lowest youth population ratio among the nation’s six metropolitan cities.

The project targets college students and high school seniors who have finished the college entrance exam—people at the age when they start part-time work for the first time. According to an internal survey, the top experience this target group most wants to have is part-time work, followed by travel.

Based on this insight, Worxphere and Cheil developed the JOBSTAY Project, connecting young people seeking new experiences with small business owners in areas facing labor shortages. This allows youth to live locally for two weeks, simultaneously experiencing work and travel.

For each of the three regions—Busan, Tongyeong, and Gyeongju—the project created regional travel packages that include accommodation, transportation, and locally curated experiences. What sets these packages apart from conventional travel products is a novel form of payment: labor. Rather than paying in cash, participants engage in short-term, part-time work at local small businesses, exchanging their time and labor.

The part-timers, selected through a fierce competition with a ratio of 250-to-1, worked at one of 15 local businesses across three cities. The project focused on small business that are meaningful to local communities or artisan workshops at risk of disappearing, helping to sustain local industries.

Workplaces included a small local business that commercializes Busan’s traditional family-run seaweed trade, a retail outlet for a Korean beef brand representing Gyeongju—Korea’s largest beef production area—and a resort jointly operated by residents of a Tongyeong island village cooperative, all highlighting regional charm and distinctiveness.

During off-duty hours, participants can explore the local area and enjoy regional culture through the provided experience programs. They not only assist local small business owners, but also create social content about the area’s attractions. As compensation for these promotional activities, local currency is provided, which can be used for travel expenses, thereby contributing to the revitalization of the local economy.

“As a job search platform pioneering Korea’s part-time work culture, Worxphere aims to proactively offer alternatives that satisfy Gen Z’s desire for unique experiences while addressing the hiring challenges faced by small business owners in regional areas,” stated Summer Kim, Marketing Director at Worxphere. “We are also exploring expansion into internships that build a long-term, sustainable mutual growth model, enabling regions and young people to grow together through work.”

“We believed the regional labor shortage could align with the needs of young people seeking new travel-based work experiences,” said Hyekyung Jeong, Director at Cheil Korea. “By experiencing work and life in the region firsthand, we hope that participants will gain a positive perspective on working and living outside the metropolitan area.”

All participants of the JOBSTAY Project responded that they would consider moving to and working in regional areas in the future.
“This project helped me get over my fear of leaving Seoul. It made me realize that I can build a good life even outside the capital,” said Dongha Kwon.
“Living in a regional area gave me a sense of calm that I could never find in Seoul,” said Seojun Lim.

Local business owners who took part in the project also expressed strong support, saying the JOBSTAY Project helped bring new energy to their communities and eased hiring challenges.
“Young people coming here brought life back to the neighborhood,” commented Jaegyu Hwang.
“It’s been very hard to find workers, and this project was a big help. I hope it continues,” added Byungwook Jung.

The JOBSTAY Project is planned as a sustainable, long-term solution—not a one-off initiative. Long-term partnerships are under discussion with the local government and the Korea Fisheries Resources Agency. Worxphere and Cheil anticipate this initiative will encourage young people who have experienced life in regional areas through the project, either directly or indirectly, to develop a positive perception of working and living there, consider future employment in these regions and, ultimately, settle down in those areas.

Cheil led the campaign from planning to execution, and has created the launch TVC, digital film, on-site promotions for participant recruitment, and promotional short-form videos for participating small businesses. The digital film recorded 13,167,728 views, while the number of the YouTube channel’s subscribers increased by 82%.