#WANJU 99+1It doesn't disappear. A city of value. The sustainable background... The city where it's located.

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  #Wanju’s Innovative Projects

  The Whole of the Village Is a School

  ‘Citizen’s Autonomous School’ where residents learn what they want toThe Citizen’s Autonomous School that Wanju Cultural City Support Center has been running since last year is a village school where residents learn what they want to in their own village with their neighbors. It is planned for the villagers themselves to suggest or plan what cultural activities to do or what education they want to receive, in order to grow together and change the village. The support center provides them with consulting, an education program setting, professionals, and learning tools to implement self-determined educational themes and contents suggested by the residents.Last year, tens of villages participated. Their themes and methods were all different: Gyeongcheon-myeon’s ‘Village Goods Development School’, Gosan-myeon’s ‘Youtube Editing School’, Dongsang-myeon’s ‘Our Village’s Interpreter School’, Bongdong-eup’s ‘SNS School for Moms’, and ‘Drawing School with Hangeul’. Based on these successful results, 10 villages applied for the citizen’s autonomous school in the first half of 2022, and 10 other villages will open them in the second half. Last year, the project opened in December, the agricultural off-season, and it is divided into the first and second halves of the year from this year, to reflect citizens’ various needs. A school where seniors and children learn together‘Bamtoljomulak (chestnut finger-play) school’ in Oiyul Village in Gosan-myeonYulgok-li, Gosan-myeon, where Oiyul Village is located, is ‘chestnut valley’ in Korean. The ‘yul’ of Oiyul Village is ‘chestnut’, too. It is called Oiyul as it is located outside the foot of the mountain were there are lots of chestnut trees. The name of the small library on the second floor of the village hall is ‘Chestnut Library,’ and ‘Chestnut Finger-play School’ that was opened for two months during July and August, comes from the same root. The principal of the school was Go Eunyeong, who is a teacher of a middle school, but was on maternity leave.After discussion, residents of the village decided to learn to make pottery.At first, the elderly ladies felt weird having classes at the village school. The oldest participant among them is 89 year old Lee Jeongsu. The others range in age from late 70s to 80s, and the children of the village also joined. As most of the ladies had no experience of going to school, it was strange to learn something from somebody else, but thanks to the experienced teacher they soon became interested in the classes. When they were asked to bring some grass and flowers to decorate their pottery, some of them brought so much. They said they were looking forward to the village classes now.Go Eunyeong, principal of the school, says that through this village school, we have confirmed the possibility that the elderly and children can transcend generations and be together. “Learning to make pottery itself was beneficial and enjoyable, of course, but I think the fact that the elderly ladies revealed their inner stories is more meaningful.”Happiness through a simple taste‘Bread Baking Village School’ in Seodu Village, Bongdong-eupSeodu Village, located in Gumi-ri, Bongdong-eup, produces a great amount of ginger, and has been known as "Ginger Valley" since ancient times. In the past, after harvesting ginger, it is said that the people traveled nationwide to sell ginger, from Gangwon-do to Jeju-do.The village hall, where the village school was opened, was newly built in 2002 when it was chosen as an information village. After that, when it was selected as a local industrial village in 2014, villagers raised funds to invest in creating a farming association corporation, and the village hall was extended to the second floor to allow space to prepare a ginger processing room on the first floor. Using this ginger processing room, they have managed an ‘Experiencing Recreation Village’ since 2019. In the second half of 2019, the number of visitors to the experiencing activities exceeded 1,000, but the number of visitors has since decreased by 500 per year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Park Miseon, village office manager, was thinking about a program where the villagers could work together, and found out that the Wanju Cultural City Support Center supports the village school. After consulting with the villagers about ways to utilize the cooking facilities in the ginger processing room, there were many with the opinion to use the room to learn how to make bread. They made a decision to open ‘Bread Baking School’ for two months, during July and August, when the villagers are free from ginger work. With a bakery expert as an instructor, they decided to make madeleines, sweet red bean bread, makgeoli bread, s, pizza, soboro bread, walnut pies and roll cakes.Gradually, the old ladies began to take more of an interest. They were used to making kalguksu and sujebi with flour, but they didn't know that there were different types of flour, such as strong flour and medium flour, which they found out while learning to make bread. They were also amazed that the methods of kneading were different depending on the types of bread or snacks. When we decided to bring our own ingredients for the pizza toppings they brought many vegetables such as onions, tomatoes, and basil. We made bread while eating lunch together in the village hall. Then, seeing that it would take quite a lot of time, we decided to make a lot of bread and share it with neighbors. Bread was shared with the households in the village, and later our baking activities escalated. Some suggested sharing bread with those who work hard for the community. The bread made in the class of the village school was distributed to the county office, fire station, town office, and police substation.Park Miseon, who was in charge of general affairs, feels rewarded for opening a village school under the theme of making bread. "The elderly ladies love it so much. Some say that this is the first time they have ever tasted pizza in their entire life. When would the elderly in the countryside have ever had the chance to eat madeleines or walnut pies? How wonderful it must be to have experienced the joy of making such foods by themselves and sharing them with their neighbors. It’s so sad that it ended after two months, and they keep asking me when we’ll do it again.”Bring the village to life with an exciting beat‘Eolssu Dudeurim School’ at Inno Hills Apartments, Iseo-myeonInno Hills Apartments in Iseo-myeon is an apartment complex built in 2013. As it is a village located inside Jeonju-Wanju Innovation City, it is not a rural area, and most of the residents of the 650 households are not natives of Iseo-myeon. Although it is difficult in many ways to form a village community, the elderly tend to congregate well around the apartment senior citizen center. In particular, after being selected as the "Byeolbyeol Village Hall" project of Wanju Cultural City Support Center, the senior citizen center was improved upon last year, and now they have become more active. Even before the village school was opened, they had been engaged in various activities for the mental and physical health of the elderly, including singing classes, yoga, and speed cup stacking.The educational program of Inno Hills Apartments’ village school, "Eolssu Dudeurim School," is ‘seoljanggu.’ The principal of the village school is Hwang Myeonggi, who has been leading the Senior Citizens' Association since 2018. He said they chose seoljanggu for members of the Senior Citizens' Association, whose desire to stay active in mind and body naturally wanes as time goes by, to be revitalized through exciting beats and performing appropriate physical activities. It would be more exciting to play samulnori, which involves playing gongs, kkwaenggwari, drums, and janggu, but being mindful of keeping the noise down in the apartment complex, they decided to only play janggu to lessen the excessive noise. Though they play only one, the janggu, their shoulders automatically move up and down to the exciting janggu rhythm of about a dozen members playing in unison.The attendance rate at Eolssu Dudeurim School is 100%. Senior members, who are students of the village school, always say that they are looking forward to the next class. Even when they return home, they practice the rhythm by tapping the table with empty hands, absent of the janggu. That shows how much fun it is and it instills in them a vitality for life. As they had fun and practiced so hard, their janggu skills have improved a lot. They learned gutgeori, whimori, and even jajinmori rhythms. It is rare to see this kind of village community culture in apartments in urban rather than rural areas. It is their consistent wish of the members that they want to continue to gather and learn seoljanggu even after the village school program is over. So they will continue the meetings at any cost.Exercises to relax the body and mind of the elderly‘Snail Yoga Class’ in Yongyeon Village, Soyang-myeonYongyeon Village, located about 1 km east of downtown Soyang-myeon, is called ‘Yongyeon’ because there is a dragon pond in the stream in front of the village. There are 170 residents living in 70 households in this village, and as in other rural villages, there are many elderly people. It is said that there has never been a major problem in the village due to the good harmony among the residents from generation to generation.In the village, ‘Snail Yoga Class’, was held at a village school, from last June to August.Han Bo-hyun, who is the head of the village and planner of the village school program, said, "Most of the villagers are elderly, so we decided to learn yoga after considering ways to relieve their fatigue from farming and revitalize their minds and bodies." This is because yoga improves flexibility of the body by using muscles that are not normally used, and strengthens muscle strength through various movements.Most of the participants of the Snail Yoga Class in Yongyeon Village were in their 70s and some of them were in their 80s. At first, it was not easy for them to learn yoga moves because of their old age and stiffened backs from long farm work. Lee Eunhee, instructor of the yoga class, first taught abdominal breathing, the basics of yoga, and let them slowly follow her breathing. After they learned breathing and basic movements, she repeatedly guided them in postures that can improve immunity, and others to be used in daily life and improve muscle strength while balancing the body. If it was difficult for them to follow, she let them rest and join again when they could move comfortably. After the steady training like that, the elderly became more and more interested. They participated more actively feeling their stiffened muscles loosen up, and their bodies become more supple. At first, it started with 11 people, but the number of participants gradually increased, and later the village hall filled up so much it became cramped. On the last day of the Snail Yoga Class, on the 16th of August, the village hall was full. All of the participants felt sorry that the village school period was too short.Soap made by native residents and newcomers, communicating with each other‘Bbodeudeuk Soap Perfume School’ in Pyeongji Village, Bibong-myeonPyeongji Village has about 30 residents in 15 households. There are five households of people who once lived in the city and have now returned to their hometowns. All the villagers live such a simple and generous life that they get along well without any conflict between native residents and newcomers. Kim Sookja, principal of the village school, is also a returnee who has been living in the village for four years.The village school in Pyeongji Village, which was operated from July to August of this year, was ‘Bbodedeuk Soap Perfume School.’ They learned the process of making eco-friendly soap using agricultural products and natural ingredients grown in the village. Pyeongji Village is an eco-friendly village where, due to not using herbicides for farming, fireflies live comfortably. A variety of products were made and shared among residents, including a shampoo bar made of ginseng sprouts grown by villagers, an insect repellent necessary for country life where mosquitoes and insects are everywhere, a facial soap made of eoseongcho grown in the village, candles with wildflower aromas, eco-friendly kitchen detergents using coffee grounds, and moisturizers made of natural oil.All the residents who tried the soap and shampoo made by themselves using natural ingredients say, "I don't think I can use other soap anymore." "The shampoo we made has softened our hair even though we don't use conditioner separately. At this rate, the soap and the shampoo businesses will close soon." Old ladies who said they had never used bath bombs in their lives were very amazed and liked them. They say they don’t have bathtubs in their houses, so they dissolve the bath bomb in a large rubber tub and enjoy a bath.Kim Sookja, principal of Bbodedeuk Soap Perfume School, says “I feel how important it is to have a space for community activities like this in the village. It's really precious to be able to get together and do something together in an aging and culturally alienated rural area."

  2022.12.14

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  #Wanju’s Innovative Projects

  Wanju Twos and Threes Culture Masil

  Cultural Masil (Outing), connecting villages and filling cultural gaps Accordingly, the Wanju Cultural City Support Center immediately planned and promoted ‘Twos and Threes Cultural Masil’ to resolve the cultural vacuum. It supported local cultural artists collaborating to give small-scale performances and carry out cultural activities visiting villages in the deepest parts of Wanju-gun. From village halls to the culture sharing spaces managed by residents, any place can be a stage for a small -scale performance. In addition, whenever a performance was held, thorough on-site operations and management were carried out in accordance with the quarantine regulations. As the quarantine regulations were perfectly implemented, from the audience's entrance to the operation of activities, in some villages, residents who could not enter the concert hall once it had reached full capacity, were able to watch the performance from outside the window. In some villages, elderly audience members took out a pocketful of money and put it in the performer's hands. In the middle of December, residents watching a performance from outside the door witnessed an elderly resident slip a 10,000 won bill into the hands of a young artist, and at this everyone firmly felt a cultural vacuum in their minds. Everyone's willingness to make up for it was also felt with certainty. Wanju Cultural City Support Center experienced the possibility of resolving the cultural gaps and the imbalance in cultural benefits between regions and generations through support for small-scale performances in 2021. Accordingly, they organized ‘Two and Threes Culture Masil’ to connect villages as a regular project in 2022. In particular, this year, through collaboration with the Wanju-gun Life Culture Club Network, they have provided Wanju life culture artists with an opportunity to communicate with local residents. In addition, opportunities for exchanges between clubs were also d by promoting joint concerts centered on the clubs' activity area (eup, myeon). Through this support, 12 small concerts were held in 12 eups and myeons in Wanju-gun from August to October. Events were held in various places, from the spacious yard of the head of Dubang Village in Gui-myeon to the outdoor stages of Bibinagan in Samrye and the administrative welfare center in Soyang-myeon. More than five clubs collaborated to set up the stage for each concert, and village parties were also held to share the food served by the villagers, although the scale was different. As they are performances of hobby-based life and culture clubs, performers aged 80 and over often made appearances to play musical instruments or dance. One of the host's regular joke repertoires is that the total age of participants in the team that performed this time is well over 1,000 years old. Nevertheless, they boast as much passion and energy as any leading artist when they perform on the stage. In ‘Twos and Threes Culture Masil,’ performers on the stage also become members of the audience after completing their turn, and enjoy the stage, Then, when the audience gets excited, they stand up, dance, and sing along. There is no distinction between the performer and the audience, and there is no giver or recipient. They just fill each other's gaps and help each other.

  2022.12.14

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  #Wanju’s Innovative Projects

  Wanju Cultural Market Day@ where places and stories come alive

  Wanju Cultural Market Day@, how to play in the neighborhoodThere are two sentences that best represent what ‘Wanju Cultural Market Day@’ has achieved from the year when it started as a pilot operation in 2020. The first is ‘Let’s play in the neighborhood!’, and the other is ‘We sell culture, not goods!’ As Wanju is very large in area and has a strange geographical structure surrounding Jeonju, it needed its own place where citizens can enjoy culture in their neighborhood, or living area. It can be viewed as like a ‘market day’ being held here and there all over Wanju. On that very point, Wanju Cultural Market Day@ started. They put @ after the project title, which means that it could be held at any place in the 13 eups or myeons of Wanju.In fact, Wanju Cultural Market Day@ does not actually sell anything even though it’s a market day. It is a process of creating a culture that citizens want to share in a place they want. That’s why it is the citizens that are most important at Wanju Cultural Market Day@, because they have to manage the whole process of the cultural market day from deciding its place to planning and implementing it. Further, this year sees one more aspect added. It’s the ‘cultural locality’ found by the citizens.This year, Wanju Cultural Market Day@ discovered a total of 9 places in five regions: Gosan, Gui, Dongsang, Bongdong, and Yongjin. Compared to last year's seven cultural market days, two more were held this year.The first priority of the citizen planning team exploring places begins with talking and asking questions.For two months, the team continued to ask questions one after another to the places they discovered. To get answers, they collected data at libraries and interviewed the people of the places in person. It was a chance to approach from various angle not only the places and their surrounding areas, but also the residents living there. Then, they could see the various resources and related stories which had remained unseen when they had only seen the places. The process of adding meaning and value to the various place resources and stories discovered by the team was carried out with a mentor. The process to arrange them through the citizen planning team was pleasant and yet quite serious at times. Over a period of two months, Over a period of about two months, they were called into action almost 50 times.From September to November of this year, a variety of programs will be held in nine places visited and reinterpreted by local citizens with cultural plans, that can share cultural localities and values with neighbors.Nine places, nine colorsThe Silkworm Salon in Yongjin-eup was a place used to make money as a silkworm egg center. When it was moved to Buan Silkworm Town, the area which had been empty for a while was turned into a cultural complex. The location of the Silkworm Salon used to be the site of a company house, and now several communities manage it together. 8 members of the citizen planning team give life to its locality and dream of a culture that connects the past and the present, and then the future, like the thread silk worms produce. Reinterpreting the meaning of the place as the silkworm egg center, the team also developed various programs like a weaving experience program with silkworm thread. You can see and experience the various experiencing programs the team have prepared in the yard and alley of the Silkworm Salon. Along the route around the Mangyeong-gang (river), Bongdong-eup, you can enjoy ‘Mangyeong-gang Tour by Bicycle.’ It is a culture tour program promoting Wanju with its abundant historical and ecological cultural resources through a bicycle tour along the river. The citizen planning team d the Mangyeong-gang tour course, that goes from Mangyeong-gang bicycle rental station near the old Bongdong Bus Terminal to Seodu Village. A total of 4 Mangyeong-gang Bicycle Tours proceeded from September to November.In Bongdong, cultural market days are held where citizens discuss the cultural usage of parks between apartments, and collect and share stories about their talents, eco-friendliness, and housekeeping. There is another cultural market day where they record and share the life history of the Singi-ri area where Bongdong’s native ginger, designated as an important national agricultural asset, remainsAt Gosan Miso Market, there is a cultural market day called ‘Like Me, Like You, and As We Are’ held with the theme of ‘diversity’. At Gosan Miso Market, where you can find a Korean beef meat market, vegan stores, and old citizens and newcomers, the citizen planning team discovered respect, inclusion and diversity of the locality, seeing the coexistence of the old and the new. There are various programs held imagining a village that respects and embraces each other through books and films at the market.Gosan-myeon’s Local Economic Circulation Center was once used as a school (Samgi Elementary School) in the past. Now, it has been reborn as a hub space for citizens’ cultural arts. The citizen planning team runs off the history and stories of spaces and citizens by listening to the village elders who graduated from the elementary school, through archives and storytelling.In Dongsang-myeon, the Yeonseok-san (mountain) parking lot, which is mostly unused, will become a cultural plaza for the residents to use. Utilizing the abundant resources from Dongsang-myeon and Yeonseok-san, the team plans to transform the space into a place of exchange and harmony through culture.At the shelter of the promenade of a reservoir in Gui-myeon, a concert called ‘Gui-reservoir talk concert’ will be held. It is a combination of a talk show and a concert with the theme of ‘abundance, meeting, and birth’ against the background of Gui Reservoir under the crystal clear autumn sky. The citizen planning team, composed of local young people, interpreted Moak-san and Gui Reservoir culturally based on the place names, origins, and stories of the area.Wanju Cultural Market Day@, citizen’s ordinary culture playgroundSince its inception in 2020, the Wanju Cultural Market Day @ project has developed to the point of discovering places in the living area from the eyes of residents and found a cultural sense of place. In particular, this year, with the active participation of the citizen planning team, more diverse cultural places were discovered. The Wanju Cultural Market Day@ project has the primary goal of regenerating places in a cultural way, rather than destroying and developing, but, secondarily, it puts more value on the point that residents experience and implement ways to protect and their city by themselves through the activities of the citizen planning team.Wanju Cultural Market Day@ is not a simple citizen’s festival for the people to enjoy, but a sort of process to make a new citizen’s culture while citizens themselves interpret local places culturally. That’s why it is an experiment to make the city sustainable, while connecting and imagining its past, present, and future. This is the reason why Wanju Cultural Market Day@, the playground of Wanju citizens we see everywhere in Wanju, must continue in the future.

  2022.12.14

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  #Wanju’s Innovative Projects

  Our Neighborhood’s Culture Sharing Space Closer than Home

  No Need for New BuildingsIn order for a community to be active and unity to increase, a space where people can gather and share their concerns on a daily basis is needed. In that sense, it is desirable that new experiments and challenges regarding shared spaces are increasing. There are no particular external rules to define the shared space. Further, each shared space is managed individually and in its own way, as participants and the main activities of the spaces are different. However, there are some invisible characteristics that all the shared spaces have in common. First, there should be no access limits. Second, it is better when there’s no big difference between hosts and guests. Third, it’s better if they have multiple functions for reading, meeting, chatting, and lectures whenever needed.Recently, Wanju citizens also have managed lots of shared spaces. We’d like to introduce 6 spaces that have joined the ‘1 Million Won Labs of Our Village’s Culture Shared Spaces’; Darak (Yongjin-eup), Mankeum (Bongdong-eup), Media Cafe (Iseo-myeon), Byeolmadang (Gui-myeon), Bomulseom (Bongdong-eup), and Dinggadingga (Bongdong-eup). Spaces are culture studios for all Cultural Arts Space, Darak- 652-10, Sinjiri, Yongjin-eup, Wanju-gun‘Cultural Arts Space, Darak’, located in Yongbok Village, Yongjin-myeon, Wanju-gun is the village’s as yet uncompleted shared space. It consists of a house, a yard, and a farm. As it is located at the place where two villages meet, it has its own merit in that anyone can visit it comfortably.It took the first step as a shared space through the ‘1 Million Won Lab’ base construction project that it participated in last year, and confirmed new possibilities by conducting various cultural programs such as artist workshops, ‘Twos and threes Yongbok village’s hometown spring’, and nighttime trips.“I thought it would be nice if this space could become a culture house in the village where anyone can find music when they want to listen to music or when they need a break. At first I really wondered if anyone would come, but gradually I began to feel good as more and more neighbors participated. The residents also told me that it is good that they can eat and listen to music together. The biggest result I got from the management of this shared space is people. As you may understand, we can share each other’s time and experiences. This year, I’d like to develop better contents necessary for the management of this space. I have planned to hold workshops and throw parties.”Park Juyeon, manager of ‘Cultural Arts Space, Darak’ explained that there are no walls. One charming point of this space is that anybody passing by can enter into the well-kept lawn yard, and sit down on a chair under a colorful parasol to take a rest. The place where senior citizens and newly settled young farmers can listen to music together; where parties are held each season to enjoy seasonal food together; and where anyone can tell their life stories sharing their time and experiences at their own slow pace. This is what she really wants the space to establish itself.Mankeum- First floor, 27-3, 2 gil, Nakpyeongsinwol, Bongdong-eup, Wanju-gun‘Mankeum’ is a shared space run by a community named ‘Binttang’. ‘Mankeum’ means ‘as much’. It is literally a name with great expandability that users of the space can use as much as they need and as much as they want, to do with as they please, and for what activities they desire to do. Intending to make a space where participants ponder over our society’s sustainability through ‘zero waste’ movement, it opened on March 11 this spring, which also happens to be the date of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.“‘Mankeum’ is the space where, since its opening, members have been thinking about the sustainability of our society, and plans are proceeding to make it a space that publicizes the special social value of ‘zero waste’. It is managed on a membership basis, and aims for activities as a shared space. At present, we are exhibiting ‘Wolgyeong’, which a community named ‘Reading Books Every Month’ holds for two weeks. Members can rentthe space once a month. They gather to talk over environmental issues and topics, and participate in events for waste-free festivals. On Bongdong Market Day, we also promote a campaign for shopping without wrapping or packaging to make Bongdong traditional market a waste-free marketplace.”The space manager Lee Jiyeon, hopes ‘Mankeum’ will be a space considering the sustainable life of the area as well as doing various experiments for a waste-free society. Looking over the Instagram feeds of ‘Mankeum’, she was surprised at the fact that there are so many people living in this area who are interested in environmental issues. She felt a great relief that while their activities are not big, they are precious. The community rules of ‘Binttang’ led by four ‘Mankeum’ managers show what it really is. Visit ‘Mankeum’ anytime when you want to follow our motto ‘Towards a colorful and unalienated life’.Media Cafe- 44, Iseo-ro, Iseo-myeon, Wanju-gun‘Media Cafe’, located in the downtown area of Iseo-myeon, is a product of typical community activities. Those who gathered for the apartment renaissance project decided to continue their activities even after the project support ended, and d the ‘Weird Community Association’ in 2019. They needed to make money to continue their activities, as well as a space in which to do so. ‘MediaCafe’ is the hot place of the community made in that way.“People said we would go bankrupt in three months, as it was started by people who had no prior business experience. We continued it for three years, and people started to think of it as a somewhat attractive space. At first, the focus was on projects for children, but now we think more about ourselves, the participants. We, people, like to communicate with each other, and all of us do through media now. That’s why we named our space Media Cafe, to live communicating freely whether online or offline. We close the door at 6 p.m., but we are planning to extend our opening hours to have time to enjoy a light pub or snacks.”While running the flea market last year, more sellers than expected were recruited, and the market was opened on the street in front of the town office of Iseo-myeon. In the shared space, they offered hand acupuncture, blog making, business card making, and food-related programs at the request of local residents. This year, they are meeting more residents to make different kinds of fruit syrup together. Kim Yeonju, space manager of Media Cafe, hopes that it will become a space where anyone can visit when they want to do something. She also hopes visitors can encounter people sharing similar ideas, adding new ones, and finally making them together.Byeolmadang- 742-1, Wongi-ri, Gui-myeon, Wanju-gunKim Okja, manager of Byeolmadang came back to Gui in 2009. She built a house and opened a cafe, where Moak-san and Gui reservoir are located to the front and back, but she realized she was not good at making money. In that difficult situation, owing to the Covid-19 pandemic and culture city project of Wanju, she could change the cafe into a shared space called Byeolmadang.As she had given piano lessons and played the piano for choirs for a long time in Jeonju, music has been her life and is now the most important part of Byeolmadang. “When I first moved in, the elderly residents of the village approached me and said hello. Plucking up courage, I held an autumn music concert on a day during autumn at Byeolmadang. The concert is called ‘Autumn Is Really Beautiful’ and it has been held every autumn since then. I was appointed as the head of culture in 2017, and participated in the Culture City Promotion Committee of Wanju-gun. I thought over and over about the shared space, and the Covid-19 pandemic had a key role in deciding what to do. Last year’s ‘Silver Harmony’ remains in my heart. It’s a kind of exchange program between senior citizens and immigrants. This year, I have met lots of people operating several programs like Winter Nighttime Travel, Silver Harmony, Ggomjirak Playground, and Flowers Blooming Twice a Year.”Operating her shared space, she came to consider intergenerational exchanges important. Young people learn life wisdom from seniors, and the seniors learn how to better use mobile phones from the young.Byeolmadang has a big yard where the works of visitors are displayed. Small and pretty flowers are drawn on rubber shoes. Wild flowers drawn on a broken jar bloom again. Thanks to its comfortable atmosphere, the elderly of the village visit it freely and neighbors enjoy themselves at night reading books or drinking wine together. It is named Byeolmadang as she loved to stargaze, but now those who visit this space are the stars for her. Where they twinkle with their own colors, that’s the very Byeolmadang.Bomulseom- 89 Bongdongdongseo-ro, Bongdong-eup, Wanju-gunBomulseom Café, located on the first floor of the former Bongdong town office building, is a leading shared space that has been in existence for over 10 years. Chosen as a community business pilot project of the government in 2011, the selected communities of Bongdong began their activities as their hub space for residents. Various programs and projects have been developed around this space. Korean language education and counseling for multi-cultural immigrant females have been the most continuous and steady. As the activity period was long, there were many twists and turns, and difficulties. Many cafes have been built in the Bongdong area, and the young children of multicultural immigrant women who participated in the early days have been thinking about new changes in space management as they enter their teenage years.“It’s already been over 10 years. The children of the immigrants who started this project together are now teenagers. Last year, we bought an oven for the bakery, which is the base construction project of the shared space. Though there are many cafes in the downtown area, we’d like to make it a valued shared space where we, local residents, immigrants, and their children can get together, study, and learn things necessary for our growth with Bomulseom’s own strong bonds and accumulated skills.”Manager Kim Jongrye of Bomulseom Café emphasized she would do her best for anyone to use the space as much as they need. At present, Korean language education for immigrant women, bilingual education for children, and language healing education are being conducted during the week. On Saturdays, various workshops necessary for daily life are held, including making seasonal fruit syrup, tropical crop planting, making holiday food together, and making kimchi. After setting up the space of Bomuseom Cafe, she went on a knowledge gathering trip to Japan, and she still remembers a small shared space in a small village there. She wants to make Bomulseom a shared space which protects small things, though not luxurious, where many people communicate and connect with each other, and an unchanged space visited generation after generation. She dreams of such a space, and Bomulseom will remain the same, with accumulating pictures of the times and the people.Dinggadingga- 201-1203, 18, Nakpyeongbuk-ro, Bongdong-eup, Wanju-gunThere is Dinggadingga, a shared space or activity room for women, located on the 12th floor of an apartment building which looks over the Mangyeong River in Bongdong-eup. As it opened last year, it’s been around for just one year. Before explaining more about the space of Dinggadingga, we must first know about a gathering called ‘Moms’ Vacation’. The beginning of moms’ vacation was on November 7, 2018. Moms whose existence as ‘I’ had been dimmed in the family and could not be happy with the title of ‘a mom’ sought to gather in one place. Kim Jiyeong, leader of the space, said she enjoyed herself very much while recollecting the last year. To enjoy yourself is to find a release. She has become a person who tells her thoughts out loud, speaks courageously, and also listens well. From that point, the flowers of a safe relationship begin to bloom.“I hope women can feel consoled at Dinggadingga. Those who don’t know what they like, or who feel hasty and lonesome not knowing what to do though they want to do something. Healing contents continuously provided by such programs to care for the minds of women, especially for moms, to heal and give fun to their minds, will be at Dinggadingga. Further, I hope the talents of the women can find connections with others.”Dinggadingga is a shared space of about 112 square meters (34 pyeong), with four bedrooms, a living room, and two bathrooms. There are independent and shared spaces for 1, 2-4, and 6-8 people. It also has shared tools for drawing pictures and a shared library of comics, humanities, and picture books. In addition, there is a resting space prepared for ‘book stay’ programs.As Kim Jiyeong said, the space itself is not that important. Wherever we are, it is important to understand and be connected with each other. Isn’t it great to have a place where you can visit and come back to at any time, and feel more and more connected with each other? ‘Dinggadingga’ is a phrase that introduces its self: “As much as anyone can do at any one time, just do it separately and together at your own pace. When the wind blows in your heart, just come.”Doesn’t your heart beat to its slogan?

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  #Wanju’s Innovative Projects

  The 8 Most Wanju-like Stores

  Dried fish store, the last one remaining in Samrye Market Yeosusanghoi Yeosusanghoi opened in 1981 and is the last dried fish store existing in Samrye Market. The store which began as a ‘half store’ with its wooden board door, is still going well 40 years later. It’s been possible due to selling quality goods with low profit margins since its beginning, which has seen generations of customers, with descendants of its first patrons still shopping there now. At one time, business was so good that the owner didn’t have time to go to bed as there were so many customers. However, now all of the dried fish stores have closed except for Yeosusanghoi. It had to relocate because of the renovation of Samrye Market. This led some customers to think the store had closed down. The store didn’t have as many customers as in the past because they didn’t know its new location. Time was the key. The regulars discovered the owner of the store and spread the news. It took about one year to get going in full swing again after its relocation. The daughter-in-law of the owner said “My mother-in-law knows all there is to know is even though she spends all her time in the store.” Her customers visit the store as soon as she opens in the morning. They sit down and talk and talk, and naturally she came to hear stories from all around the world. Yeosusanghoi is a place where you can buy quality goods easily, and have someone to talk to if you want to. It’s strongly recommended to visit at least once if you have the chance. - Location: 27 Namseosin-gil, Samrye-eup, Wanju-gun, Jeonbuk Gourmet Restaurant with a Great View at Daea Reservoir, Dongsang-myeon Nopeunjib ‘Nopeunjib’ at Daea Reservoir, Dongsang-myeon is a freshwater fish maeuntang restaurant managed by a couple whose home became submerged when the reservoir was constructed. All the ingredients used there are from the owner’s own fields or collected from the mountains. As the wife makes all the side dishes with those pure and clear ingredients, customers can taste their own moms’ home cooked food. Fatsia shoots collected from the mountains in spring are served on the table, chive pancakes in summer, acorn jelly in fall, and dried Dongsang persimmons as a desert in winter. The freshwater maeuntang of the restaurant uses freshwater fish such as catfish and bullhead caught by the owner himself, and is boiled with plenty of dried radish leaves. The hot taste from hot pepper is the first priority and when you eat well-broiled leaves on a spoonful of rice, you will ask for one more bowl of rice. In the maeuntang served by the couple of Nopeunjib, you can feel the affection the couple have living in front of their submerged home. - Location: 661-3, Daeajeosu-ro, Dongsang-myeon, Wanju-gun, Jeonbuk A Bakery in Yongjin That Stole the Hearts of Bread Lovers Samilwol Passing by the Yongjin Local Food, you may have seen it at least once. The bakery store Samilwol, written in yellow on a tin plate sign. As the bakery appears to be small and a little rough around the edges, you may worry if there are any customers, but the bakery is very famous for its delicious tastes. The unique store name was the idea of the owner, who likes croissants. He tried to derive a name from croissant-related things, but came up with it from the moon ‘samilwol’ rising on the third lunar day. As the store is small, different breads are displayed on the small shelves every hour. If you have any favorite there, you should know when what you want is baked. It’s an inconvenience you do not experience at other bakeries, but it’s okay as the delicious taste of the bread is worth it. In addition, you can directly observe the process of kneading and baking with your own eyes, so why don’t you visit the bakery if you are passing by? - Location: 179, Wanju-ro, Yongjin-eup, Wanju-gun, Jeonbuk A clothing store in Gosan-myeon that has nearly everything you could think of Myeonglang Shopping ‘Myeonglang Shopping’ is the biggest clothing store in downtown Gosan. It’s not just women’s outdoor clothes that can be found here. You can think of it as a department store, as it has almost everything necessary for living including bathroom shoes, underwear, blankets, hats, and bags. The most interesting feature of this store is that there is no price tag. If you want to know the price of an item, you should talk to the owner instead of looking for price tags. According to him, working alone to put price tags on goods takes too much time. Plus the price can change a little depending on his mind. The reason? It’s a clothing store where a discount is possible. Talking to him while buying items, the owner tries to consider the customer’s situation, and asks the customer to pay what they can afford to pay. Myeonglang Shopping is like a neighborhood rest area. It’s the place where customers drink tea served by the owner and take a rest. Local residents come for the air conditioning when it’s so hot outside, and look around for what they need. Customers even get to know and talk to each other. It’s the friendliness that customers from other areas like Iksan, Gunsan, and Jinan come for. - Location: 107, Gosan-ro, Gosan-myeon, Wanju-gun, Jeonbuk Old Noodle Restaurant in Bongdong-eup Jangteoguksu There are several guksu (noodle) restaurants that boast different charms on the street known as guksu street in Bongdong-eup. Among them, Jangteoguksu is an old one, originally located in Bongdong Bus Terminal. As the site was demolished, it resumed business at its present location in 2017. Although the location has changed, the taste of the brothremains the same. There are only two items on the menu, mulguksu and bibimguksu. Kongguksu is added during the summer season, but it’s just a seasonal additional to the menu. Recently due to the skyrocketing consumer prices, it’s not easy to have a meal with only 10,000 won, but two people can eat guksu until they’re full with that money there.If you are eager to eat a hearty bowl of guksu, Jangteoguksu is highly recommended. - Location: 74, Bongdong-ro, Bongdong-eup, Jeonbuk   A cafe as well as a pilgrim’s shelter Cafe Martyr ‘Martyr’ is a Latin word meaning the persecuted. Cafe Martyr was set up in September 2021 as a place for pilgrims from all over the country to take a rest in a quiet atmosphere. ‘Martyr’ is called a cafe, but is actually a shelter managed by catholic volunteers, so they do not charge any money for their drinks. It is managed through the voluntary donations of the cafe users. It is operated entirely with the support of volunteers and pilgrims. If you need peace of mind and somewhere to take a rest or feel the faith of martyrs, try to visit cafe Martyr in Chonami Holy Land. - Location: 122-1, Chonamsingi-gil, Iseo-myeon, Wanju-gun, Jeonbuk Mom’s taste in Samrye, discovery of a home-made meal Hyangwusikdang Hyangwusikdang, specializing in home-made style Korean meals, is a restaurant where simple but hearty meals are provided. They set their table using the rice they grow by themselves and all other food ingredients from Wanju. The seasonal table setting is as good as a table set by your own mom. Using seasonal ingredients, they offer naengi soybean paste soup in spring, cold cucumber soup in summer, and warm nurungji soup in autumn and winter. With clean and fresh side dishes, grilled sea fish like mackerel, yellow corbina, or flatfish take up part of the table, and customers can choose one of the main dishes from kimchi stew, cheonggukjang, doenjang stew, or chicken stew as they like. On days when you think of a home cooked meal made by your mom, Hyangwusikdang is my strong recommendation. - Location: 60, Samryeyeok-ro, Samrye-eup, Wanju-gun, Jeonbuk Everything is there in Bongdong Manmulsanghoi Manmulsanghoi, located in ginger market alley in downtown Bongdong, is a long established 47 year old store. As the name suggest, the store sells an innumerable amount of various goods. It is said that in the past when the store was run by the founder, he would personally look for the goods in the store and bring them to the customer. Now his son has inherited the store and manages it. Currently, as the store is well organized, customers can pick out their own items. Of course the old regulars still tell the owner what they want, and wait for him to bring the items to them. Manmulsanghoi is harmoniously equipped with not only memorable items accumulated by the founder, but also retro items popular with the young and chosen sensitively by the young owner. - Location: 134-17, Bongdongdongseo-ro, Bongdong-eup. Wanju-gun, Jeonbuk

  2022.12.14

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  #People on the spot

  Agriculture for Producers, Consumers, and the Earth

  Baek Jongsu is a farmer in his sixth year of returning to farming. In February 2016, he decided to move to Wanju and, as a base camp, lived for two years in an apartment in Bongdong-eup. Then,in February 2018, he bought a house with a large yard in Oiyul Village, Yulgok-ri, Gosan-myeon, and since then, he has produced peppers, zucchinis, watermelons, and cabbages in 5 greenhouses near his home using eco-friendly agricultural methods. The farm is named ‘GoBaek Farm’, taking the letters of his last name Baek and Go from Go Eunyeong, his wife, who he calls his sidekick.Baek Jongsu's record of Wanju settlement tells an exemplary story of returning to farming and rural areas. At the beginning, he did not build a house or start farming. Instead, at first he worked as an office manager at a village company in Gyeongcheon for one year and as a staff member at the Wanju-gun Return to Agriculture Support Center for three years to learn knowledge and information about the region, villages, farming and people. Of course, he received a salary for his work, which was a great help economically."Now, I’m living with as few external activities as possible, and focusing on farming and parenting as much as possible. I have three daughters who are 10, 7, and 2 years old. I have goals for eco-friendly agriculture, and I have seen good results, but there are difficulties in reality. The information is asymmetric, and the agricultural support policies still have many drawbacks. My sidekick introduced me to various projects of the Wanju Cultural City Support Center, and from March this year, I organized a meeting with eco-friendly farmers nearby to start a ‘Meeting with No Representatives.’I wanted to talk about eco-friendly agriculture in Wanju, and I also wanted to think about the influx of people."Baek Jongsu described farming as a "special industry that must reveal and share all the processes and results." He said he has lots of worries about people. They know very well about cars and houses and talk about them a lot, but when it comes to the food that they eat and digest day after day, they make no effort to learn how it is produced and distributed. Further, he also added that although Wanju is implementing a successful agricultural policy with local food and they have considerable experience and achievements in eco-friendly agriculture, that it is time to prepare for a new response to the climate crisis, zero waste, and changes in the consumer market."From now on, I have a goal to proper conditions in Wanju where anyone who is interested in eco-friendly agriculture can proudly take on a challenge with pride. Just as there were not many people who expected local food to succeed like this at first, I am sure that eco-friendly agriculture will definitely see good results if we challenge it more systematically and actively than now."Baek Jongsu's ‘GoBaek Farm’ has its own farming philosophy, "Together with producers, consumers, and the earth." Instead of vinyl mulching used for pepper farming, he uses multi-use herbicide mats. And in the case of red pepper straps, he uses multi-use attraction lines instead of nylon straps. He grows zucchinis without plastic mulching. Although the cost is more expensive and the process of working is complicated, he does it because he believes it is less harmful to the earth and us too. His small efforts like these have been introduced several times in newspapers and broadcast media."Not long ago, my project was selected as a 'small research project for cultural diversity' by the Wanju Cultural City Support Center and I will submit a research plan soon. This time, I plan to interview eco-friendly farmers and conduct a consumer awareness survey. I'm going to organize the thoughts and desires of the producers and the consumers from my point of view. I don't exactly know yet what to do specifically and how my small research and practice will develop.“

  2022.12.14