Completion of Boseong600 Project... Revival of Village Community and Maturation of Participatory Autonomy

Delivering New Hope to Boseong-gun

Dalgugi Sculpture Carrying Guduljang (Photo by Boseong-gun)

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Cheon-seok] Boseong-gun, Jeollanam-do (Governor Kim Cheol-woo) announced on the 31st that the flagship project “Boseong600 Project,” which has been evaluated for reviving village communities and fostering a mature participatory self-governance culture, has been completed.

The county has been promoting the Boseong600 Project as a key policy since last year. Among the 600 natural villages, 285 villages participated last year, and this year, about 8,000 residents from 273 villages joined together.

The Boseong600 Project is a resident participation-type project where residents cultivate their own villages. Residents directly discuss and decide on village management plans and small-scale projects they wish to pursue in the village, and the county provides administrative support.

In last year’s Boseong600 Project, villages that planted income crops such as durup (Aralia sprout) and sunflowers harvested these crops this year, generating joint village income.

To ensure a well-rounded project, continuous follow-up management such as weeding and tree pruning conducted by the villages themselves will be planned going forward.

A notable village among those participating in this year’s Boseong600 Project is Wolpyeong Village in Deukryang-myeon.

Residents of Wolpyeong Village created a small park in the village that symbolizes Deukryang Obongsan, the world’s largest guduljang (traditional Korean ondol stone slab) production area.

At the park located at the village entrance, a sculpture of an ox cart carrying guduljang stones has been installed to inform visitors to Obongsan about the history of Obongsan and the excellence of guduljang.

Wonseodang Village in Hoecheon-myeon painted the village’s origin and natural scenery on the village walls from the entrance to the inner paths, recording the village’s history and creating a friendly atmosphere for tourists.

Mr. Kim, who has worked as a mail carrier in Boseong-gun for over 20 years, said, “Delivering mail while seeing the clean village makes me feel good, and it seems like we are delivering new hope to the village.”

Meanwhile, the county plans to maintain and spread the sense of ownership instilled in residents through the Boseong600 Project by promoting the “Our Neighborhood, Our Responsibility” campaign, encouraging residents to take the initiative in activities such as cleaning up trash and cutting grass, and continuously discovering and promoting tasks that residents can lead on their own.

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