Wanju’s Innovative Projects

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  #Wanju’s Innovative Projects

  Stepping Over the Threshold of Civil Spaces, Sharing Through CultureOur 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?

  2022.12.14

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  #Wanju’s Innovative Projects

  introduced by the Wanju Shared Culture Exploration TeamThe 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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  #Wanju’s Innovative Projects

  Let’s play in the neighborhood!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

  Oh, Glad to See You! Villages Intertwined with the Culture of LifeWanju 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 Citizens’ Autonomous School set up in the village hallThe 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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  #People on the spot

  Baek Jongsu, farmerAgriculture 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

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  #People on the spot

  Choi Migyeong, representative of HwasanaebbanggeutCultural Competency Growing Through Diverse Participation

  The bakery run by Choi Migyeong, representative of the culture headquarters Bbalaeteo and Hwasanaebbanggeut is located in an unexpected place. On the way from downtown Hwasan-myeon to Gyeongcheon Reservoir, a very small sign is hung on a small house along the road, and the sign is engraved with the pretty letters ‘Hwasanaebbanggeut.’"I've been running a cake class ever since I lived in Jeonju. It has been eight years now since I settled in Hwasan, and I started ‘Hwasanaebbanggeut’ in June of last year." It was designated as a preliminary social enterprise in September. I have to make money, and I want to continue to operate this space, which I prepared with difficulty.“Choi Migyeong's relationship with Wanju dates back 12 years. In 2010, she had a brief engagement with the village company Mother Cookie, and after that, she spent time living in both Wanju and Jeonju, before moving to Wanju when her child entered Hwasan Middle School. Though she used her child's education as an excuse, she said she may have had a greater mind for life and changes in life. She found the site of the house she is living in now by chance, but there were many twists and turns before it became hers and was made into the decent village cultural space that it is now."I think this space has confirmed its potential as a small cultural space in the area. In 2020, it was selected as an excellent example of the use of idle facilities in rural empty houses in the Jeollabuk-do Happy Rural Development Contest. Then, with this case, I went to a national competition and won the Korea Rural Community Corporation President’s Award. The interest and support of the Wanju Cultural City Support Center was a great help."Choi Migyeong also participated in the civic culture jury several times. The process was an opportunity to ively look back on the projects she had done, and she felt that Wanju was experiencing big growth."At first, as a 'made in public growth project' of the Wanju Cultural City Support Center, we conducted horticultural therapy and aromatherapy certification classes with the young heads and several residents of Hwasan-myeon as a residents’ capacity building project. My project was important, but I was also interested in community activities in the Hwasan area. I could feel the growth of Wanju-gun through my skin. In the early days of moving here, it was a boring living in Wanju, but now I think it's Wanju where you can do anything if you have the time and motivation."Choi Migyeong came to the conclusion that the Wanju Cultural City Support Center really does operate many projects and programs that help local residents' lives. At the same time, she suggested that it would be good to programs in which competent individuals can participate, although it should continue to develop community-oriented cultural capabilities as it is now."There are many people returning to farming and the rural areas in Wanju, but I hope many Wanju natives will participate in the program, too. That may require much more active publicity. This year, I had an opportunity to participate as a lecturer at Seodu Village School, so I was able to make all sorts of bread such as sweet red bean bread, soboro, roll cakes, pizza, and madeleines with the elders of the village in Bongdong. At first, I went straight home after class, but later, they asked me to stay and eat after class. When that kind of thing happens, it's more fun and rewarding."

  2022.12.14

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  #People on the spot

  Hwang Seokhyeon, section chief of Korea Electrical Safety CorporationWays to connect the young of Innovation city with the wider area

  Section chief Hwang Seok-hyun, who works for the Korea Electrical Safety Corporation in Wanju and Jeonju Innovation City, is from Donghae, Gangwon-do. He joined the Gangwon Northern Branch of the corporation 10 years ago and was soon transferred to the Seoul headquarters, but moved to Wanju when the corporation moved to Iseo Innovation City in 2014. It may seem difficult to find anything special in the contents so far, but the following story shows how much Hwang Seokhyeon got stuck into things."In December 2020, I was selected for the' Rediscovery of Wanju Guinness,’ in regards to record making. I was selected in the category of "Most Individual Awards and Appointments". Until then, I had received 27 individual awards and 29 letters of appointment. It is mainly related to cultural and artistic activities, and public sector policies and ideas. In Wanju, I also participate in various gatherings, including the voluntary crime prevention unit, and cultural artistic activities. In fact, I got married through the introduction of an elderly person I became acquainted with while working in the voluntary crime prevention unit. A very strong connection has been made here."It is not easy for the staff of newly located public institutions or industrial complexes in Wanju to consistently participate in various activities in the community. This is especially true in the case of single-person families who moved to Wanju from other regions. I wondered what has made Hwang Seokhyeon such a great inquisitive person.The keywords of Hwang Seokhyeon's concerns and activities are ‘region and youth.’ The Wanju Cultural Foundation's Culture and Arts Residents' Policy Research Group, and the Wanju Cultural City Support Center's ‘Meeting With No Representatives,’ which began its activities this year, deal with the same topic. They continue to talk and carry out research with other colleagues about how young local people, especially young people who have moved to the innovative city, can connect with the local community and live more happily."The phenomenon of young people working in innovative cities moving to other places when the time comes can happen not only in Wanju but also in all innovative cities across the country. I live and work in Wanju, but if I don't build a relationship with the community, I end up going home in a different region every weekend. I have no friends in the area, there are no club activities, and not many peers in this or that program, which all make it difficult to participate in any kind of program. I think it will get better gradually if we start by identifying and resolving the problems and demands of the young people who work here."The range of the relationships with the local community in which Hwang Seokhyeon is involved with is deeper and richer than expected. He worked for the space planning team of a youth space called Iseonaru, and drew support from the company, and with that connection, he also hosted the Iseonaru opening event. Even now, with six colleagues, he’s investigating the cultural satisfaction of young employees of the relocated institutions in Wanju-gun and studying various solutions for young people to settle in the region."I hope that young people will carry out more diverse cultural and artistic activities in the region. In fact, there are many programs offered in Wanju-gun. However, the elderly are more active and attracting more attention than the young. I thought we needed to pay a little more attention to the young people. If I have a chance in the future, I plan to work with other public institution employees to increase participation and budget support.“

  2022.12.14

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  #People on the spot

  Choi Jeonghye, citizen activistEnjoying the Pleasure of Exploring the City as a Cultural City

  Choi Jeonghye once knocked lightly at the door of the center before starting her career with the Wanju Culture Sharing Exploration Team and establishing a connection with the Cultural City Support Center. She participated in a contest to name the cultural sharing space ‘Da-Haeng’. Although she didn’t win the contest, she said she liked the establishment of the Wanju Cultural City Support Center in Samrye, where she lives, and its supporting Wanju's cultural and artistic activities."I'm from Jeonju and I've lived here in Samrye since I got married. It's already been 22 years. I studied as much as I could while taking care of my children and helping my husband with his work. I also received certificates as a nursery teacher, a social welfare worker, and a lifelong educator. When my child entered elementary school, I gathered information from various activities through parents' meetings, and what I had studied before was very helpful at that time. After that, I also obtained the necessary certificates for total crafts and wood crafting. These activities don’t make me any money, but they gave me confidence and revitalized my life."In Wanju, there are private institutions and organizations in various fields, and their activities and programs are very diverse, with many participating communities. However, it is not easy for common people to access such things without an opportunity. I was wondering why she became involved with the center."I thought I was just an ordinary woman, but the Wanju Cultural City Support Center listened to the stories and ideas I submitted with interest. Although it was not a great activity, there was a lot to learn from the activities of the Wanju Culture Sharing Exploration Team and the activities of the Citizen Culture Jury. The exploration team's activities were looking around Bibijeong near Mangyeong-gang in Samrye or Ginger Valley Green Park in Bongdong. They were always close, but with a certain goal, I could see other things. Through jury activities, I had an opportunity to understand a little more about the public and administration."Since 2018, Choi Jeonghye has taken an active role in the traditional play team of ‘Black Rubber Shoes,’ a game community of the Saemaeul Bookstore Association in Wanju-gun. It is an activity to make videos of traditional games such as Jegichagi (a shuttlecock kicking game), biseokchigi (a stone throwing game), and jukbangul nori (a cup and ball game), and share them with others, and it is said that it was fun and rewarding during the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic."This is the age of media. Kids have only cell phones in their hands. ‘Black Rubber Shoes’ is a play community that strives to spread a healthy play culture that can be enjoyed not only by children but also by men and women of all ages. We’re trying to develop contents that fit the current era. Recently, we have been working at local children's centers, institutions for the disabled, day care centers for the elderly, and nursing hospitals through a cultural reading volunteer team. I'm an educational instructor at a local children's center in Hwasan."She said that it is more fun to participate in small programs or events at the Cultural City Support Center than setting any big goal or expectation. Last summer, she explored two old stores in Samrye as an activity of the Culture Sharing Exploration Team. She said that the exploration report was also submitted after completing the exploration of a baekban restaurant Hyangwusikdang and the jewelry store Hwanggeumdang near the terminal. It is difficult to know the familiar places around us unless you look closely. So far, the explorations have been carried out as part of the program, but I hope that they will continue to lead to daily exploration activities that enrich Choi Jeonghye's life by looking around, talking, and getting to know more places.

  2022.12.14

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  #People on the spot

  Daughter Lee Hyeseo, Mom Mun YeojeongMom Caring for the Park and Her Daughter Embracing the Ecology of Mangyeong-gang

  Hyeseo, 13 years old, is in the 6th grade of elementary school. She goes to Dongyang Elementary School, which has a total of 38 students, close to her home. She was born in Iksan and lived in Dongsang-myeon for five years, and at the age of seven, she moved here to Haewol-ri, Soyang-myeon. I honestly wondered what it would feel like to live in a place surrounded by mountains and forests. Hyeseo says she likes this natural environment, with having being familiar with mountains, plants, and animals since she was young, but she says it is a bit disappointing that there are no convenience stores, playgrounds, or parks. The white T-shirt Hyeseo is wearing was engraved with the words ‘Mangyeong-gang Youth Expedition Team.""This is a group of teenagers guarding the Mangyeong-gang. We started our activities last Saturday. We learn about the Mangyeong-gang first and then learn more about what animals are living there and how to protect them. Originally, about 60 students gathered, but last week there were only 30. During the summer vacation, I took three ecological classes at 'OO Village School'. I learned about birds first, golden frogs second, and house bats third. House bats usually live near villages or in rice paddies."I asked Hyeseo why she became interested in ecology and the environment. Of course, I wondered if such interest and activities were interesting for her."I think that if the environment gets worse, there will be fewer animals and it is not good for people. It's good to learn how to protect the environment. It's nice to be able to get together, from those in the 5th grade of elementary school to high school students, where we can hang out together and learn a lot from teachers about things we don't know a lot about.”The programs that Hyeseo is participating in are ‘OO Village School’ and ‘Manbogi (Technology to care for the ecology of Mangyeong-gang).’ She said that it is good to have a movie making class, study about ecology and the environment at the community media center in Gosan, and hang out with good people, but it is a bit regretful that more friends cannot be with her. Of course, Hyeseo was able to participate in the program of the Wanju Cultural City Support Center thanks to the introduction of her mother, Mun Yeojeong. Since 2020, Ms. Mun has also joined the ‘Talent of All Class’ of the Wanju Cultural City Support Center, and has continued to build relationships and develop various activities.Last year, she carried out a project to turn empty public land in the village into a park through ‘OO Village School.’ Along with the villagers, her whole family participated in cleaning up the garbage, making pavilions, and planting trees. Sports facilities will soon be built. The experience of changing an abandoned space of ten years into a village park in a community way could change other things in the village, too.“I think Wanju has a well-equipped environment where residents can actively challenge themselves when they try to do something. There are also many good educational programs. But more publicity is needed. There are many good programs in the Cultural City Support Center, but it's a shame that residents don't seem to know about them.”

  2022.12.14

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  #People on the spot

  Jo Mijeong, Starlight protector of abandoned animalsCultural Diversity, the Key to the Happy Coexistence of Humans and Animals

  Jo Mijeong is conducting ‘Awareness Improvement Activity of Yard Dogs and Abandoned Animals -- We Are Alive, Too’, as a follow-up project for Wanju-type cultural diversity. Last year, under the theme of ‘Can Pets Living in Rural Areas Improve Their Quality of Life?’, we tried to suggest the idea that a cultural approach is needed suitable for the characteristics of rural communities, conducting a small research project on cultural diversity. And, this year, we are promoting this project in the sense of expansion and practice of last year's research."This project is largely filled with three contents. First of all, we are producing stop motion animations to improve residents’ awareness of yard dogs, street cats, and abandoned dogs. They are about 30 seconds long and will be made for social media campaigns. Activists for abandoned animals are participating in drawing pictures and collaborating with us to make the animations. We are also preparing a program to make handmade snacks for pet dogs to donate to abandoned dog shelters, and also to a flea market to sell snacks. Every program focuses on improving people's awareness of yard dogs, abandoned dogs and street cats that live with us."The digital dictionary defines that cultural diversity covers almost all cultural differences between people. It's not an easy concept. I wondered what cultural diversity means for Jo Mijeong, who is working on a Wanju-type cultural diversity practice project following a small study on cultural diversity."I don't know if I understand it properly, but I thought that cultural diversity means respecting and acknowledging that people and animals live their lives as they are. In that context, my research project is also about the quality of life of animals living in rural areas. It's not hard to find out what's wrong seeing a yard dog tied up in the yard. Yard dogs can become much happier by making short leashes longer, providing clean water whenever the dog needs it, making a good platform on the bottom of a dog cage, and widening the roof to stop the dog getting wet when it rains. If that makes their lives any better, wouldn't our cultural diversity expand further?"Jo Mijeong moved to Wanju in 2014. Since 2006, she worked as an official at the Jeonbuk Sustainable Development Council for more than 10 years, and also worked as a staff member at Wanju-gun’s Community Support Center for two years. Although the contents and methods of work were different, she said that she experienced various forms of governance to strengthen the sustainability of our society and the solidarity of the community.Even before conducting a small study on cultural diversity, Jo Mijeong had been active as a famous cat mom in Gosan. By chance, she adopted two abandoned cats and raised them, and she happened to see the street cats living near her house. While taking care of them, she got to learn about the existence of more street cats, and that made her enter the irreversible path of a cat mother."Now, I feed cats here and there and do neutering surgery at about 5 places. At first, I tried to handle it by myself. However, it's hard to manage it properly all by myself. Now that I have people with me, I'm not having a hard time anymore. Recently, I have been volunteering at an abandoned animal shelter. I wasn't always like that, but I think I changed myself little by little. Anyway, I think taking care of cats is easier in the country than in the city. I hope my research and activities can help improve the quality of life of pets living together with us, even if just a little. To do that, improving people's awareness is the most important thing."

  2022.12.14

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  #Wanju Tour

  General status of Wanju-gunWanju Information at a glance

  General status of Wanju-gunPopulation : 91,137Area : 821.05㎢ (the largest  part of  Jeollabuk-do)Location : Wanju-gun is located in the center of Jeollabuk-do surrounding Jeonju-si, with a distance of 36km from east to west, 71km from north to south. It has Jinan-gun to the east, Gimje-si to the west, Imsil-gun and Jeongeup-si to the south, and Iksan-si and Chungcheongnam-do’s Nonsan-si and Geumsan-gun to the north.Geographical features : Wanju-gun is surrounded by Godeok-san Mountain and Moak-san Mountain with ups and downs in the mountains. The northwest is connected to the Jeonbuk Plain, a socalled ‘Okyacheonri’ meaning agricultural treasure repository, leading to the Mangyeong-gang (river) flowing through the northwest area of Jeonbuk, where all of Soyang-cheon (stream), Gosan-cheon, and Samcheon-cheon meet. Roads connect all directions centering around Jeonju. There are national and local roads leading to Gunsan, Seoul, Busan, Daegu, Mokpo, Gwangju, and Yeosu, and the Jeolla Line runs north and south, making its transportation convenient.Origin of the name Wanju : When Jeonju-eup was promoted to Jeonju-bu in 1935, the name ‘Wanju’ was first d by taking Chinese characters each from Wansan, the past name of Jeonju, and Jeonju, the current place name.Wanju’s leading tourist destinations: Daedun-san Provincial Park, Gosan Natural Recreation Forest, Moak-san Provincial Park, Dae-a Arboretum & Dae-a Lake, Songgwang-sa & Cherry Blossom Road, Wibong-sa, Wibong Falls & Wibong Fortress, Hwaam-sa, Bibi-jeong, Sanggwan Air Village Cypress Forest Wanju SNS Culture & Travel : https://www.wanju.go.kr/tour/index.wanju English website : http://trans.wanju.go.kr:7000/etgi/ Cultural city web : https://www.wanjuculture.com/ You-Tube : Google ‘Wanju-gun’ Transportation of Wanju Airport Incheon International Airport : 3 hours Gunsan Airport : 50 minutes Gwangju Airport : 1 and a half hours Muan Airport : 1 and a half hours Cheongju Airport : 1 and a half hours Saemangeum International Airport : 50 minutes (It will open in 2024) Express Bus Seoul Express Bus Terminal : 2 and a half hours Gwangju Express Bus Terminal : 1 and a half hours Daejeon Express Bus Terminal : 1 and a half hours

  2021.12.16

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  #Wanju Tour

  Wanju TourShall we visit Wanju, the city of hydrogen, local food, and sentient travel?

  The city in Korea where the local food project was bornWanju-gun is the place in Korea where the local food business began. About a decade ago, Wanju-gun declared the nation's first full-scale local food business under the banner of "happy dining tables for both the producers and consumers."Local food is a key project for low-carbon green growth as a practical alternative to overcome the harmful effects of global food, which has caused big side effects such as mass carbon emissions, faceless transactions, and the collapse of small farms.There are three reasons for the success of Wanju local food. The first is the planned production of food. In other words, the money-making single crop mass production was transformed into a multi-crop small quantity production system. The next is the strong consensus on the phrase ‘healthy tables makes happy tables’ both producers and consumers make. The third and last is to establish and operate a public organization that integrally supports communication between the participating parties, such as production, processing, and logistics, to revitalize local food. Based on the revitalization of the social economy, public organizations are promoting the revitalization of village communities, urban and rural exchange promotion projects, and support projects to help returnees and new rural settlers. Due to the local food project, Wanju-gun has enjoyed the effects of promoting villages’ independence in the community growth, stable income in rural areas, and jobs, and has been recognized as the No. 1 city of farmers who return home or come to farm in rural areas.Wanju-gun, the leading location of the Korean hydrogen economyThe hydrogen economy is one of the core issues of the future economy, which Wanju-gun has concentrated on. Wanju has been emerging as a key base for the future hydrogen economy. As large-scale investments and mutual cooperation among companies are actively taking place, and the hydrogen industry ecosystem is established in earnest, Wanju-gun is becoming the center of the hydrogen supply network.To this end, Wanju-gun is building infrastructure for the hydrogen industry at full speed. Wanju-gun, a hydrogen pilot city, is expanding its hydrogen industry infrastructure opening the nation's largest hydrogen charging station in 2020, attracting a ‘Hydrogen Goods Inspection Support Center’ in 2021, and immediately confirming the construction of Jeonbuk's No. 1 hydrogen production base.The ‘Hydrogen Goods Inspection Support Center’ is constructing the examination lab and set up equipment for the implementation of safe management of hydrogen supplies and facilities. In addition, by 2022, the project to ‘construct a small-scale hydrogen production base’ is expected to begin. With this project finished, it can produce hydrogen through hydrogen extractors and provide the product to its charging stations, which has significance in that it is the first hydrogen production base in Jeollabuk-do.In addition to production facilities, Wanju-gun introduced the 1st hydro-electric bus for the first time in county-level governments. The hydro-electric bus, which is also called a running air purifier, is equipped with seat belts, and low boarding steps with a wheelchair boarding system, and can travel about 430 kilometers on a single charge. A sentient travel city given the thumbs up by BTSWanju is a ‘sentient travel city’ embracing clear nature, high-quality culture, and original local food. Including Daedunsan Provincial Park, Gosan Natural Recreational Forest, Hwaam-sa, and many others, Wanju is full of tourist destinations located in clear and pure nature. It is also full of local tasty produce including Bongdong’s ginger, Samrye’s strawberries, Gyeongcheon’s dried perssimons, Iseo’s pears, and many others.You can also see the Korean traditional style of house, Hanok, an eco-friendly building made of soil, stone, wood, and roof tiles. Representative places are Awon Old House and Oseongok Village. Awon Old House, which has gained popularity since BTS took videos and pictorials for the "2019 Summer Package in Korea," is a ‘Hanok Stay’ space meaning "our garden". With the deep ridge of Jongnamsan Mountain, this place embodies the harmony of the architectural philosophy of a 250-year-old hanok and modern buildings, giving visitors a time for rest and meditation.Around Awon old house, 22 hanoks are gathered to form Oseong Hanok Village. This hanok village, cozy and snug surrounded by several mountains, is lined with Soyang Old House and Jukrimwon for Hanok Stay, as well as many thematic cafes such as Flicker Bookstore and O’s Gallery.In addition, there is the Oseongje Reservoir, where a pine tree, also known as BTS Pine Tree, stands, and the cultural and ecological forest trail there are well established, making it a rising tourist destination recently. Additionally, ‘Mountain Lighthouse of Complex Cultural Space,’ ‘Gyeongcheon Eco-Ville, and Hwaam-sa (temple)’ are very famous tourist destinations. Further, ‘Gyeongcheonaein Stepping Stones’ is gaining popularity as a travel destination for pet families nationwide.

  2021.12.16

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  #People on the spot

  Kim Eongyeong, representative of ‘Ariari’, community of the mentally disabled

  Ariari, a community in Sanggwan-myeon, Wanju-gun, is a gathering where the mentally ill and the activists who help them meet. We are engaged in various cultural activities to improve the community's perception of the mentally ill and to raise the self-esteem of the mentally ill. Kim Eongyeong, a psychiatric nurse, leads the meeting.Q. First of all, would you introduce yourself?A. I am a member of staff at ‘Hansarang,’ a rehabilitation facility for the mentally ill. I have worked as a nurse at a psychiatric hospital for ten years, and have been working here since 2015. The hospital that I used to work at was for people with severe symptoms. However, as I saw patients repeatedly coming back to the hospital, I wondered how to help them adapt well in their community. So I moved to this rehabilitation facility. It's hard because it consumes much more physical strength and mental energy than before, but it's more rewarding.Q. How was the community ‘Ariari’ formed?A. Actually, I never had any intention to do it. In 2018, I happened to participate in the Culture Makers Academy of the Wanju Cultural City Support Center. It was a lecture to find solutions to problems in the local community through culture. There were various problems due to the prejudice of residents against the mentally ill in the facility where I worked. I just wanted to find out what I could do to make both the local community and the mentally ill communicate with each other, and to improve residents' perception of the mentally ill. Then, I came to a community through Made in Public, a community support project of the Wanju Cultural City Support Center. At first, the name was Iris, but later it was changed to Ariari. In 2019, it was officially registered as a non-profit organization.Q. Were the prejudices or misunderstandings by local residents about the mentally ill so severe?A. Residents near the facility showed us a lot of hatred. They didn’t like the mentally ill walking around their village, so they filed civil complaints to the town office and the police station, demanding that the mentally ill not walk around the village, and to make matters worse, they frequently requested that the facility should be removed from their neighborhood. That's actually more of a "hate" than prejudice. Sometimes when criminal cases involving mentally ill people were reported on TV, it got worse. So I thought it’s urgent to improve the perception of the mentally ill. I really wanted to let them know ‘The mentally ill are the same people as you are. They do not hurt anyone.’Q. How many members of ‘Ariari’ are there, and what activities have you done?A. About 30 in total, most of whom are the mentally ill and the others are three or four activists working at the facility, including me. With the support of the Wanju Cultural City Support Center for community activities, we participated in some hands-on experience programs like taking pictures, and natural dyeing. We took pictures of our daily lives and local landscapes of the neighborhood and held a photo exhibition. We were very happy and little by little, the local residents started to respond. At first, we took pictures with mobile phone cameras, but these days, our photo-taking skills have improved enough to take pictures with film cameras.We also started natural dyeing, as the members might feel bored if we repeated the same activities. In fact, it had a hidden aim to jobs. As most of the members are beneficiaries of a basic living allowance, we thought they could acquire natural dyeing skills and gain economic independence. However, natural dyeing seems to have been a physical burden to them. Actually, dyeing is very hard as they have to keep moving their hands so that the dye doesn't make stains, and they have to repeat the process of drying and wetting several times. However, on the other hand, their concentration and endurance have been improved noticeably.Q. What have you achieved through those activities?A. Above all, the members' emotional s have become rich, and their self-esteem and positiveness have increased. As I continued to join Ariari activities, I realized that "What is more important than improving the perception of others is to resolve self-stigma and increase self-esteem by the mentally disabled themselves." So the focus of the activities was also on that direction. Of course, there was some effect of improving the perception of local residents. These days, residents and members often greet each other affectionately. It's really rewarding to watch the members increase their self-esteem and express their needs more actively.People with mental illness tend to be alienated among the challenged. As they don’t have any visible physical deficiencies, they are usually not protected. However, through Ariari activities, Wanju-gun and public institutions have also become interested in the mentally ill and the cultural activities of the challenged, and there is a movement to ordinances in Wanju-gun related to them.

  2021.12.16

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  #People on the spot

  Jo Suji, leader of ‘Sutgarak’, a parenting community“It’s so natural that children are happy when their parents are happy”

  There is an African proverb that says "It takes a (whole) village to raise a child." ‘Sutgarak (Spoon),’ a parenting community in Gosan-myeon, Wanju-gun, is a community that strives to solve the hardships of raising children that most parents today are experiencing, through ‘cooperation’ and creating a happy society that is good for raising children. Currently, 15 families are participating and raising 19 children together, and Jo Suji, the mother of two children, is the leader.Q. What kind of gathering is ‘Sutgarak’?A. It was first organized in 2014, so it's been 8 years this year. As the title indicates, it’s a parenting community that raises children cooperatively. I don't know the details of its early days very well as I wasn't a member back then, but it is said that some returnees and new rural settlers to Gosan-myeon for farming took a joint parenting lecture and began to take care of their children in turns. Not only did they take care of children, but they also studied and had many discussions while thinking about what values they would raise their children with.However, as they took turns taking care of the children in the members' houses, it just wasn’t a stable and regular co-raising environment. So while looking for a suitable joint parenting location, they were able to move into a place in 2015 because there was a vacant farmhouse restaurant at the Wanju-gun Local Economic Circulation Center. The name ‘Sutgarak’ originated from one of the members saying "I feel sorry that I only put a spoon on the prepared table."Q. When did you join ‘Sutgarak’?A. I lived in Seoul and came to Wanju four years ago. I was somewhat satisfied with my Seoul life and what I was doing, but my husband, who had long dreamed of returning to farming, felt so tired of the stress of his heartless work life, that I readily agreed to follow him. But when I came down, raising children was not easy for me. In the city, you can send children to a daycare center at the age of four, but it wasn't feasible in the countryside. ‘Since we've come to a rural area to live differently from the city, it would be better to raise our kid at home.’ We strived hard, but we soon got tired and stressed until some people around us recommended ‘Sutgarak.’It hasn't been long since I became the leader. The child of the former leader, who has played a pivotal role as a representative for a long time, was old enough to enter elementary school, so I was selected as the new leader after the general meeting.Q. It looks like you have a general meeting system as a decision-making body of the community.A. There’s a general meeting once a month when all the parents have to participate. It is called ‘Damoim’ meaning all the members must attend it. Teachers who take care of our children also attend Damoim and communicate with parents with equal speech rights. They agree with the philosophy of ‘Sutgarak,’ so they can have the same level of open conversation as caregivers. And there is also an operating committee composed of teams taking charge of finance management, education, and facility management. As the joint childcare cooperative is not an official government-approved childcare institution, we don't receive any subsidies from the government. So members have to pay membership fees and even cover operating expenses through their own businesses. Apart from the general meeting or the operating committee, we hold monthly parent study meetings and conduct reading and joint learning in various fields such as education philosophy, feminism, and Enneagram, etc.Q. There must be merits and demerits of joint parenting. What are the good points, and what parts are not so good?A. Of course there are more merits. Above all, it's good to look at the child as he/she is and respect their individual circumstances, interests, and individuality. Children choose their own toys and play with them every day. Children are so happy to play while getting their clothes dirty in the spacious playground, whether it rains or snows. Sometimes they get hurt playing in the playground, but the parents really don't care. Not only children, but also parents are happy. Parents can also enjoy various hobbies in their clubs, learning foreign languages or doing sports, which seem to enrich their minds. Because my heart is relaxed, I don't get angry at children. It's a virtuous cycle in which children become happier because their parents are happy.One thing we regret is a lack of diversity in child care. I hope the diversity of forms of child care can be recognized. Children attending daycare centers are provided with 700,000 won per month, and children who are raised at home or by a joint parenting system like us are provided with only 200,000 won in total. In the case of Northern Europe, if more than five families gather and raise children jointly, it is recognized and supported as a ‘semi-childcare facility,’ and I think Korea also needs to accept those various types of caregiving.

  2021.12.16