Babaground (CEO Heo Jeong), which operates the global rural tour and experience specialist OTA 'Nohneunbeop', received the Gyeongnam Governor's Award at the '2025 Entrepreneur's Night' held at the Gyeongnam Creative Economy Innovation Center on the 19th.
This award recognizes Babaground's contributions to revitalizing the rural economy by prioritizing the hiring of young people from Gyeongsangnam-do and facilitating the digital transformation of farms and villages. The company has hired six new employees this year, half of its current workforce, and plans to hire eight more next year.
Babaground leverages an AI-based product planning automation system to automate the entire online distribution process, including travel product planning, payment, and translation, for approximately 400 farms and villages nationwide. This system supports the digital transformation of rural experiences and tourism. This has created a foundation for even farms lacking specialized personnel or IT infrastructure to independently register and sell travel products.
By operating rural experience and wellness tourism programs in key areas such as Geochang, Sancheong, and Jinju in Gyeongnam Province, the program has contributed to increased sales for farms and villages. Cumulative sales have reached approximately 1.5 billion won. In the case of the Jinju Jeongsu Culture Village, an experiential product with annual sales of 30 million won was expanded to 70 million won through "How to Play." This project was also recognized with the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Award at the "2025 Rural Experience Program Development Achievement Report."
Furthermore, Babaground generates approximately 620 million won in on-site spending through local tours and experiences, generating a tangible ripple effect in the local economy. It also collaborates with public institutions such as the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Rural Development Administration, and the Korea Rural Community Corporation to develop rural experience programs, provide training, and provide consulting services.
They are also actively expanding into the global market. Babaground has established an overseas distribution base by partnering with major platforms like Klook, Trip.com, KKday, and Rakuten Travel, as well as the women-only travel community NomadHall. Short-form content produced in the Geochang region has garnered over one million cumulative views, bolstering their international profile. They are also participating in proof-of-concept projects to address rural issues in Nagano and Kumamoto prefectures in Japan.
“This award recognizes our efforts to grow alongside local youth and create a business structure that enables rural communities to generate their own revenue,” said Heo Jeong, CEO of Babaground. “We will continue to expand our digital-based rural tourism model across the country.”
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