Gyeongbuk Province Selects Andong City and Goryeong County for 'Rural Idle Facility Startup Support' Contest Project

Remodeling of Unused Idle Facilities Following Last Year in Gimcheon, Uiseong, and Cheongdo
Activation of Startups with Matching Funds of 225 Million KRW Each from National and Local Governments

The photo shows a view of Eje-re in Apo-eup, Gimcheon-si, Gyeongbuk, which won the Excellence Award at the '2018 1st Rural Vacant House and Idle Facility Utilization Best Practice Contest.'

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Dong-wook] Gyeongsangbuk-do announced on the 3rd that Andong City and Goryeong County were selected in the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs' '2021 Rural Idle Facility Utilization Startup Support Project' contest.

The 'Rural Idle Facility Utilization Startup Support Project,' which started for the first time last year, is a project selected and announced by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs targeting unused rural idle facilities.

The project supports remodeling costs up to 450 million KRW per location (matching funds half from national and half from local government) to allow individuals, corporations, and local governments who wish to start a business in rural areas or contribute to regional revitalization to directly operate the facilities.

In 2020, three locations including Gimcheon, Uiseong, and Cheongdo were selected, and existing experience centers, closed health centers, and old farmhouses have been transformed into spaces such as internet shopping mall sales and manufacturing spaces, cafes and bakeries run by young people, and guesthouses.

In Andong City, selected this year, a business agreement was signed with Yeokdong Ecological Cultural Village Co., Ltd., and a complex cultural tourism space will be created by utilizing the Nonghyup grain warehouse within the village located in Seobu-ri, Dosan-myeon, to provide tourist convenience facilities such as cafes and bakeries and to sell and exhibit local specialties.

In Goryeong County, a closed school located in Jik-ri, Geopjin-myeon will be remodeled and transformed into the 'Youth Agricultural Drone School.' It plans to provide agricultural drone technology education for farmers and agricultural-related services such as crop pest control and pollination, as well as wildfire prevention.

Kim Jong-su, Director of the Agriculture, Livestock and Distribution Bureau of Gyeongbuk Province, said, "Through the Rural Idle Facility Utilization Startup Support Project, we are reducing the initial startup burden for youth and returnees to farming and rural areas, helping young people’s challenges, and adding new growth engines to rural areas," adding, "By revitalizing unused spaces, we can improve the rural landscape, attract tourists, and invigorate the local economy."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.