Gangjin-gun Brings 'Vitality' to Schools by Attracting Agricultural and Fishing Village Study Abroad Programs

Published 16 Jul.2021 11:07(KST)

Enactment of Rural Homestay Education Ordinance and Formation of Task Force to Revitalize Township-Level Schools

Exterior view of Gangjin-gun Office (Photo by Gangjin-gun)

[Gangjin＝Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-su] Gangjin County, Jeonnam (Governor Lee Seung-ok) will participate in the 2021 Jeonnam Rural Agricultural and Fishing Village Study Abroad Program from the second semester in cooperation with the Gangjin Office of Education (Superintendent Choi Kwang-hee).

According to Gangjin County on the 16th, the Jeonnam Rural Agricultural and Fishing Village Study Abroad Program is hosted by the Jeollanam-do Office of Education and is a program where students from cities outside Jeonnam transfer and live in Jeonnam for more than six months. It consists of family stay type, farm homestay type, and center type.

The Office of Education recruited the second batch of study abroad students from the 28th of last month to the 9th of this month, and in Gangjin County, about 10 farms and the Omnaetgol Study Abroad Center are participating together.

To attract the study abroad program, the county formed a study abroad promotion team consisting of 13 departments and a township-level school revitalization promotion team in March, striving to discover participating farms through school revitalization projects.

In particular, to discover family stay type farms, the rural rest facility Geumkkane located in Jakcheon-myeon will be remodeled and operated as a study abroad village.

Also, since May, the Gangjin County Residents Scholarship Foundation has been supporting 200,000 KRW per person per month to farm homestay type farms, and from July, it will expand support to 100,000 KRW per person per month for family stay type and center type study abroad expenses.

Governor Lee Seung-ok said, “Participation in the study abroad program is expected to revitalize schools with declining student numbers, stimulate the local economy, and induce population inflow through return-to-farming and return-to-village initiatives.” He added, “We will continue to discover linked programs with participating farms so that many students can experience Gangjin’s history and culture.”