Gyeonggi Local Currency
Gyeonggi Local Currency is a prepaid regional currency issued by all 31 cities and counties of Gyeonggi Province, South Korea's most populous province. Residents top up a card or app and receive incentive bonuses of roughly 6-10% funded by local government budgets, and the money can only be spent at small local merchants inside the issuing municipality. Running since April 2019, it is one of the world's largest local currency programs, built to keep spending inside neighborhood economies rather than large retailers and online platforms.
One of the world's largest local currency programs by users and merchant reach, but structurally a state-run, fiat-pegged incentive instrument: exceptional traction, minimal monetary sovereignty.
M69 Score
Scored against the Money2069 Manifesto — see methodology. Higher = more aligned.
Detailed Rating Breakdown
Issuance Model3x3.0
Issuance is debt-free (prepaid won conversion plus budget-funded incentives) and supply expands and contracts with top-ups and refunds, but it is a government monopoly with no link to a real-economy index.
Spending Power Stability2x3.0
Holds exact par with the Korean won through full prepaid backing, seven years live at par; the benchmark is a single fiat currency, so purchasing power simply follows KRW inflation.
Fiat Independence & Interoperability2x1.0
Fully KRW-denominated and KRW-backed, dependent on Korean banking and card rails; fiat independence is not a goal of the design.
Traction2x4.0
Millions of active users across 31 municipalities and a very large small-merchant acceptance network, seven years of continuous operation; adoption is heavily cashback-driven and the unit of account remains the won.
Sovereignty1.0
State-issued and custodial with app-based identity onboarding; provincial or national government can curtail it at will, as national subsidy cuts demonstrated.
Governance2.0
Set by provincial ordinance and municipal policy with public documentation, but there is no participant governance over monetary parameters.
Resilience2.0
Survived national subsidy cuts by falling back on provincial and municipal budgets, yet its existence depends on annual political budget decisions rather than a self-sustaining model.
Inclusivity3.0
Open to all residents at near-zero cost and deliberately channels benefits to consumers and small merchants; requires Korean ID and phone onboarding, so access ends at the province's residents.