Gwangju Seo-gu Successfully Concludes Village Community Capacity Building 'Irak Festival'

Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City selected 142 village communities this year, promoting community capacity building and specialized projects, and held the ‘Irak (里樂) Festival’ on the 7th at Seobitmaru Culture and Arts Center to share the achievements of the year.

According to Seo-gu on the day, this event, co-planned by the Seo-gu Office and a promotion council composed of village activists, was held under the theme ‘Enjoying the village, living in Seo-gu!’ and featured a variety of attractions and activities such as a community achievement contest, celebratory performances, exhibition and experience booths, and an OX quiz competition.

Seogu held the 'I(Ri)Rak(Rak) Festival,' a community festival with the village community, on the 7th at Seobitmaru Culture and Arts Center.
[Photo by Seogu]

In particular, five outstanding village community cases, which were finally selected through open recruitment, received attention at this event.

The village community ‘Maeuljip Pumda’ created an opportunity for career-interrupted women and migrant women to communicate and interact through club activities such as knitting and nail art, seeking new employment and entrepreneurship opportunities.

Also, the village community ‘Calligraphy Butdaero’ formed a new culture where residents sharing the common hobby of calligraphy engage in self-development activities and create congratulatory messages as artworks to deliver when a newborn baby is born in the village.

‘Mirinae,’ composed of teenagers, takes on elementary school care activities during summer vacation, operates food and experience booths at village events such as alley meetings, and donates the proceeds to infant homes, playing the role of the village’s ‘happiness delivery person.’

The village education community ‘Hwasarang’ leads exploration programs and educational activities utilizing village resources in Hwajeong 4-dong, while the ‘Hillstate 1st Complex Women’s Association’ continues the community spirit in the apartment complex, which can easily become disconnected, through activities such as garbage picking and cleaning with apartment residents, flea markets, healthy food making, and experience activities with children.

Kim Ikang, head of Seo-gu Office, said, “The participation and practice of various residents are becoming the driving force behind small and large changes in the village,” and added, “I hope these village community activities become the culture and tradition of Seo-gu and serve as an opportunity to spread the values of ‘together’ rather than ‘separately,’ and ‘coexistence and sharing’ rather than ‘competition.’”

Meanwhile, Seo-gu has declared this year as the ‘first year of a life-centered government by district’ and is promoting the discovery of village BIs reflecting each village’s identity, expanding resident participation projects, discovering new communities, and revitalizing apartment communities.

Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Shin Dongho baekok@asiae.co.kr

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