Gangjin-gun Receives Designation Certificate for National Important Agricultural Heritage

The Only Selection Among National Local Governments... Yeonbajuk Ecological Circulation Waterway

Residents and Officials Actively Discover Agricultural Heritage

Lee Seung-ok, the governor of Gangjin County, received the certificate of designation for the National Agricultural Heritage. (Photo by Gangjin County)

[Gangjin＝Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-su] Jeonnam Gangjin-gun (Governor Lee Seung-ok) announced on the 22nd that on the 21st, it received the designation certificate for the Gangjin Yeonbangjuk Ecological Circulation Waterway Agricultural System as a Nationally Important Agricultural Heritage (No. 16) from Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Kim Hyun-soo.

Minister Kim Hyun-soo congratulated the designation as a Nationally Important Agricultural Heritage and encouraged Governor Lee Seung-ok of Gangjin-gun and local government officials who have worked hard to discover and designate agricultural heritage.

Based on suggestions directly made by residents during town and township tours in 2018 and 2019, the county has made every effort to discover the value of the Gangjin Yeonbangjuk Ecological Circulation Waterway by promoting agricultural field forums with advice from experts on traditional culture and ecological environment.

As a result, the Gangjin-gun Yeonbangjuk Ecological Circulation Waterway Agricultural System was designated as Nationally Important Agricultural Heritage No. 16.

The designation of Nationally Important Agricultural Heritage has been made by the government since 2013 for agricultural resources, both tangible and intangible, that have been formed over a long time and are recognized as worthy of preservation and transmission.

Gangjin has the second largest Handeul Plain in Jeonnam excluding reclaimed land, but due to few high mountains and rivers, water has been scarce since ancient times. The most important factor in rice farming is agricultural water, but since water supply was not smooth, ancestors created embankments and ponds to store water so that not a single drop would be wasted.

They also established a system through waterways to exchange water from Yeonbangjuk, whose village and town boundaries differ, and installed weirs in Byeongyeongcheon Stream, a waterway carved through rocks from the highest mountain valley in Gangjin-gun, Suinsan, to use water for household purposes. This was connected to the moat of Jeolla Byeongyeong Fortress (a moat surrounding the fortress) for military use and then reused as agricultural water, creating a dual and triple circulation system.

Through this, they overcame the unfavorable agricultural environment where rice farming was difficult and established double cropping with rice, garlic, onions, etc., greatly contributing to the improvement of stable farm income.

Governor Lee Seung-ok said, “I feel proud of the selection of the nationally designated agricultural heritage achieved through the concerted efforts of residents and public officials, and I will do my best to ensure that the value of Gangjin agriculture and the Gangjin Yeonbangjuk Ecological Circulation Waterway is passed down to future generations.”

Gangjin=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-su kys86120@asiae.co.kr

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