Shinan County Gardeners Social Cooperative Achieves the 'Miracle of 100 Pyeong'

Achieving 8 Billion KRW in Resident Income
Emerging as a Nationwide Success Model

The Jeonnam Shinan-gun Garden Tree Social Cooperative Association (Chairman Park Youngcheol) held a performance report session on the achievements of the cooperative's first year and six months at the main auditorium of Shinan-gun Office on the 16th.

The event was attended by over 80 journalists and more than 30 cooperative members. Chairman Park Youngcheol presented the progress and results via a PowerPoint presentation, followed by a Q&A session.

The Shinan-gun Garden Tree Social Cooperative Association (hereafter referred to as the Cooperative), established in May 2023, was founded to find ways to link Shinan-gun's "One Island, One Garden" project to residents' income.

Shinan County Gardeners' Social Cooperative is holding a performance report meeting for one year and six months since its establishment at the large auditorium of Shinan County Office. Photo by Shinan County Office

Within just one year of its launch, the Cooperative attracted 457 members, reflecting high interest from the local community. In 2023, it produced and supplied 310,000 seedlings, generating 1.5 billion KRW in income, while the county saved 8.3 billion KRW in its budget. Last year, the Cooperative produced 1.38 million seedlings, resulting in 6.5 billion KRW in member income, and the county saved 42.3 billion KRW in its budget.

This report session covered not only the economic results but also various aspects such as increasing residents' income, social reinvestment of income, and Shinan-gun's "One Island, One Garden" policy. It also broadly addressed improvements in residents' quality of life, social value, and presented a vision for the future.

The Cooperative provides specialized seedling production training to its members to nurture professional talent. This aims to establish a sustainable and professional source of income based on skills, rather than one-time agricultural earnings. Through independent production, members can supply not only Shinan-gun but also other markets, enabling them to maintain economic independence without solely relying on the county.

Aligned with Shinan-gun's "Path Less Traveled" philosophy, the Cooperative is the first of its kind in the nation, with most members being middle-aged or younger, under their 50s. As a result, last year, it won the Grand Prize in the Job Creation and Employment Environment category at the "National Local Government Manifesto Best Practices Competition," and the Grand Prize in the Culture and Tourism category at the "2024 Local Government Content Awards," gaining nationwide recognition for its excellence.

The income generated from just 100 pyeong (approx. 330 square meters) is nothing short of a miracle, with each member earning an average of 25 million KRW annually. The Cooperative does more than just income-generating projects; it also returns a portion of its profits to the community. This includes distributing trees, donating scholarships for students?the future growth engine of Shinan-gun?and continuously engaging in volunteer activities.

Chairman Park Youngcheol stated, "In 2025, we will work to expand seedling production and distribution so that more residents can benefit. I hope that by improving quality of life through garden creation and generating economic profit through seedlings, all county residents can become happier."

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