Wando-gun Signs Agreement with Daewoo Foundation to Establish Mind Healing Center

Published 29 Jun.2023 11:04(KST)

Creation of a Cultural Arts Healing Space Linked to the Dosomin Health Care Center in Nohae-eup

Wando-gun, Jeollanam-do (Governor Shin Woo-cheol) announced on the 29th that it signed a business agreement with the Daewoo Foundation (Chairman Kim Sun-hyeop) on the 27th to establish a Mind Healing Center.

The signing ceremony took place at the Daewoo Foundation with the attendance of Shin Woo-cheol, Governor of Wando-gun, and Kim Sun-hyeop, Chairman of the Daewoo Foundation.

This agreement follows the decision made in January for Wando-gun and the Daewoo Foundation to establish a Health Care Center to improve the health management and welfare of island residents. The Mind Healing Center will be built on the site of the former Wando Daewoo Hospital (located in Nohwa-eup).

(On the left) Shin Woo-cheol, the county governor, signed a business agreement with Kim Seon-hyeop, chairman of the Daewoo Foundation, on the 27th to establish a Mind Healing Center. [Photo by Wando-gun]

Under the agreement, the Daewoo Foundation will provide partial free rental of the building and support resources worth approximately 1 billion KRW for remodeling, as well as directly participate in the art project.

The county plans to secure local extinction response funds to invest in the project costs for the center’s construction.

The Mind Healing Center will utilize spaces formerly used as dormitories and annex buildings of the old Wando Daewoo Hospital, creating exhibition spaces for artworks and residences where artists can live and create. It is expected to help attract related populations such as artists and improve cultural conditions in the island region.

In particular, by linking the Health Care Center and the Mind Healing Center, the plan is to enhance residents’ health care, cultural and artistic healing activities, and hold island art festivals connected to healing and health festivals, thereby improving residents’ quality of life and responding to population outflow prevention.

Governor Shin Woo-cheol said, “Through this agreement, we hope to improve welfare and cultural conditions in island areas, reduce population outflow, revitalize the region, and contribute to job creation such as training art healing personnel.”

The Daewoo Foundation is a nonprofit corporation established by the late Chairman Kim Woo-joong of Daewoo. Following Shinan, Muju, and Jindo, it established the Wando Daewoo Hospital in 1980 in Nohwa-eup to provide medical services.

In addition to medical services on remote islands, the Daewoo Foundation also operates cultural and artistic projects such as the Daewoo Academic Series and the Art Sonje Center.