The nearby mines shut down one by one. The cement business, once the city's pride, waned. More than a dozen schools closed, as did one of the two movie theatres.
By the time Kim Chang-gyu returned to Jecheon, South Korea, after four decades away to become the mayor, his hometown felt resigned to its decline. The town's center was dotted with vacant storefronts, and local businessmen fretted about how tough it was to find workers.
Mr. Kim, a retired diplomat, looked farther afield: Central Asia and the estimated half a million people of Korean descent who have been living there for nearly a century.
[
Collection
]
[
|
...
]