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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  #Wanju’s Innovative Projects

  New Usage of Spaces Found Together with CitizensWanju Cultural Sharing Space ‘Da:Haeng’

  The first question asked while conducting a cultural regeneration project to a cultural base space in Wanju cultural city, was who the owner of the space is. This is because the space can have vitality after it is prepared only when it is regenerated from the perspective that the people who will use it, not the person who made it, are the owners.Citizens who visit the space should be able to become owners with a sense of it being ‘our’ space, not the users to temporarily use the provided amenities. Of course, in order to have such a consciousness, it was necessary for citizens to take the initiative from the first step of determining the necessities and directions of space creation. This is why Wanju-gun set up a citizen design planning team to decide on the use of the former Samrye train station.The owners of spaces are the people who will use them, not who made themFrom local food to Wanju cultural city creation projects, Wanju-gun has made great efforts to revitalize the community. This soon became the characteristic of Wanju-gun’s features, and this wave is expanding more valuably, encompassing not only the existing county citizens but also the lives of returnees, rural residents, and multicultural families who have started a new life in Wanju. In the end, Wanju's base space regeneration project focused on creating and revitalizing citizens’ communities. It has a very different texture from projects that temporarily revitalize the region by removing old buildings and redeveloping them or holding festivals or events. They decided the base space must be used for revitalizing the citizen-centered cultural communities, and citizens should be active main agents of the local cultural space. Of course, there is a limit to the power of citizens alone, so policy-level support and expert participation should go in tandem with them.Spaces changing in accordance with the opinions and movements of the usersOn the matter of what kind of space citizens really want, Wanju-gun arranged a meeting to collect their opinions before beginning the regeneration of the old Samrye train station. The six-week workshop of the Citizen Design Planning Team was overflowing with vivid opinions and suggestions. Various and ingenious opinions poured out to the extent that architects and design team experts had to follow breathlessly."I don't want the design to be fixed in setting the functions here. I hope you find ways the users can freely set the space considering the functions depending on the situation."The walls that separate the space of Da:Haeng are installed as variable sliding walls following the opinion of the design planning team, allowing the space to be expanded and divided according to the user's use and scale."We always go to see good cultural spaces, but at some point, it is natural the number of tourists or visitors will decrease. I think this is because they keep showing the same things over and over again. I hope the space should not stick to a single theme, but a space where the contents can change depending on the activity."In the space of Da:Haeng, there are no affixed ‘titles’ limiting the function and roles of the space. In accordance with the users’ activities, the function and roles of the space can be set freely.Thanks to the 42-day journey to a lively space that is aligned more closely to citizens’ lives and where citizens visit frequently, and the Wanju Citizen Design Planning Team, who were willing to sacrifice their precious weekends and join the workshop, visitors of Da:Haeng are happy today, too.1. ‘Extend,’ A space to imagine togetherA space where you can a variety of different spaces using movable walls that can be connected to the central lounge.- Recommended events: meetings, education, workshops, performances, exhibitions, etc.- Supplies: beam projector, screen, folding tables, folding chairs, etc.2. ‘Do,’ A small-scale network spaceA small space for independent use utilizing movable walls- Recommended events: meetings, education, small-scale workshops, etc.- Supplies: beam projector, screen, folding tables, folding chairs, etc.3. ‘Film’, A one-person studio for creating contents A space where video contents can be d- Recommended events: video production, non-face-to-face meetings, video shoots, etc.- Supplies: Computer, webcam, lighting, chroma key, recording microphone, etc.4. ‘Maple’, A shared kitchen sharing the food culture of each otherA space for all cultural activities using food such as gift-sharing, networking parties, education, etc.- Recommended events: cooking classes, small gatherings of communities, meetings, education, workshops, etc.- Supplies: cooking utensils, microwave oven, refrigerator, triple burner induction cooktop, tableware for 10 people

  2021.12.16

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  #Wanju’s Innovative Projects

  Projects Highlighting the Symbiotic Cultural CitySustainability of the Cultural City d with common experiences

  ‘Urban Drawing’ by the Citizen Design Team, the New Deal for Wanju Urban RegenerationWanju-gun has been carrying out a cooperative project, the new deal for urban regeneration, in earnest since early this year after discussions for the project last year. In particular, through the experience of Wanju Cultural City, which collected and reflected citizens' opinions in the construction of ‘Wanju Cultural Sharing Space Da:Haeng’ last year, from this year, the opinions of residents are collected and reflected in the process of urban regeneration in Wanju-gun through cooperation. By sharing the operational experience of the 'Citizen Design Planning Team' that can do this, and through cooperative operations, we are overcoming the hardware-centric limitations of urban regeneration together and creating joint outcomes.In fact, since the first half of 2021, through cooperation with the team of the new deal for Wanju urban regeneration, the operations of Citizen Design Planning Team of Bongdong Urban Regeneration Base, those of Saewon Village History Street Creation, and Bongdong Bicycle Rental Center have been carried out. Additionally, many other small and large urban regeneration teams including Gosan, Bongdong, Samrye, Sanggwan, and Yongjin in Wanju-gun are currently cooperating with each other. In particular, the Bongdong area is creating "common success experiences" by overcoming the citizens’ conflicting agendas through the experience of the citizen design planning team and solving the problem of areas excluded from urban regeneration sites through cooperation with the cultural city.Wanju-type Village Festivals ‘Selling Values not Goods’‘@Wanju Culture Market Day’Members of ‘@Wanju Cultural Market Day’ directly discover the cultural characteristics of each village, develop them into contents, and and operate a village marketplace that citizens can enjoy with their neighbors.From the initial planning stage, which was carried out as a pilot project in 2020, a citizen working group was formed to design the implementation process. The project target area was established and a citizen planning team, and a market day action group, were organized and promoted. The citizen planning team held market days in the 3 areas of Samrye, Iseo, and Bongdong in 2020, and added 4 more to make a total of 7 in 2021, including Yongjin, and Dongsang, under the theme of the cultural characteristics of each village they live in.@Wanju Cultural Market Day, the processes of which the citizens planned and implemented entirely on their own, is becoming a small but fruitful, resident-centered Wanju-type village festival.Culture and Healing are their daily life; 12 ‘Wanju Cultural Healing Schools’Suffering from unexpected disasters for a long time, the possibility of "healing" of culture and art has increased. Wanju has been pondering over "cultural healing" since it established the plan to a cultural city in 2019. Even though they had not been based on academic theory, they sought possible healing methods through tangible and intangible cultural resources of the region. As expected, the way also touched the hearts and souls of the citizens.Wanju's unique cultural healing experiments that we can practice in a sustainable way in our daily lives, even if they are not special or scientific, have been conducted in earnest this year. A total of 12 ‘Wanju Cultural Healing Schools’ opened, and programs utilizing the characteristics of the living areas of villages or communities were given. Communities and citizens became teachers and operated Wanju Cultural Healing Schools. Music was played alongside fire pits in the yard of an artist's home in a village, and closed schools were reborn as comforting schools for citizens to paint pictures, write, or observe the movement of bees. At a local bookstore, some residents gathered in twos and threes after work, and a late-night chat took place on the pretext of discussing books. The Wanju-type cultural healing, in which hearts that had been cut off by COVID-19, gather and touch again, face and embrace each other, and is starting in the hands of Wanju citizens.

  2021.12.16

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  #Wanju’s Innovative Projects

  Projects highlighting the Cooperative Cultural CitySmall success vs. Acceptable failure with experiences of imagination, learning, and practice

  Wanju, the cultural city, pays attention to a "cultural community" as a key base and starting point of community culture. In order to revitalize cultural personnel and cultural communities with various cultural values, it focuses on yielding professionals, creating activity spaces, and discovering cooperative and collaborative projects. It also supports these activities to become common and continuous within our lives and communities. As the main force of the local cultural ecosystem, nurturing creative cultural professionals and a cultural community, and cultivating culture through people are the key points of the cultural city Wanju.Culture maker and culture makersWanju is a place with abundant community experience through local food representing Wanju, but the experience of cultural communities is completely different. How can cultures that have entered familiar community experiences shine? In Wanju, it suggests each individual problem is that of the society, so the key point is the expansion of subjectivity. The beginning course is ‘Wanju Culture Maker Academy,’ which fosters Wanju-type creative cultural professionals. It is not a common omnibus-style of education for each subject, but a systematic human resources training process for problem solving and cultural project-making. From the beginning to the end of the training, a dedicated professional instructor works with each trainee. In the process of walking through the trainees' problems and solutions together, the most important element is 'people'. Education is conducted in a way that first forms a ‘solidarity of concerns’ before finding people with the same concerns, and the means and methods of solutions. It is the beginning of a cultural method to share experiences with each other, changing positions for predicting various situations based on understanding and respect. In addition, it is also the time when Wanju culture makers, a Wanju-type cultural community, is formed together.It supports common values, not just one projectThere is no distinction between the commonly existing geography and generations in the Wanju cultural community. It is a gathering of people who imagine and practice the same thoughts, interests, and values. It is diversified ranging from common-interest communities that share their interests, to intimate communities d by individual needs, and social economy communities that pursue social and economic values at the same time. The diverse purposes and activities of the community means that the concepts and categories of the Wanju-type cultural community applied in the field are not limited, and are flexibly applied depending on the situation.Wanju cultural communities can operate freely thanks to the support system. It’s said that “projects impossible in other organizations or institutions are possible in the cultural city.” This is true because the support system of Wanju communities is not tied to a business frame but has a policy-level frame. Active consulting and budget support are granted to the direction the community pursues rather than promoting a single project.‘Wanju Culture Commons’ understanding each other and being in solidarity in various practicesWanju's cultural community support project has an integrated system of activities for citizens to discover and solve community problems based on the small-scale understanding of each other, and the support for the activities. Community support is divided into preparatory and growth types, and this division focuses on the process of community growth. The puppet show club, which was started to entertain the community’s children, started as a theater company and became a cooperative, and the community that supports the activities of migrant women (mothers) whose social relationships have been cut off due to corporate migration, has changed from a social gathering to a platform for forming a bond of common understanding of mothers nationwide, owing to their external activities.In Wanju Cultural City, the concept of a cultural community is expanding beyond solving local problems to social innovation, in that it pursues changing the social system and promoting regional development, in addition to finding local culture solutions. In this respect, the expansion of a community is very significant. There are communities that have been focused on social issues from the start, but as numbers increase, more and more communities are taking an interest in social issues. In line with the contents of the activity becoming a social issue, the target is expanding from members to families, and even to the whole community.Amid the interaction of common resources, power, sense, collaboration and cooperation, the foundation for Wanju culture commons, which transforms the society with culture, is gaining strength and solidifying.

  2021.12.16

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  #Wanju’s Innovative Projects

  Projects Highlighting the Sharing Cultural CityOur steps and records making systematic networks

  In Wanju-gun, we have d a sharing cultureIn Wanju, a sharing culture is being d based on the principle of openness, ranging from human assets, human talents, skills, knowledge, and experiences beyond the economic realm, to space, goods, and data. Based on the value of "connection," city residents directly discover and record shared resources, aiming to form social capital in the city based on respect and trust.Platform ‘Wanju Culture Sharing 365’. Data d by citizensAt ‘Wanju Culture Sharing 365 www.wculture365.com’, where all the information on tangible Wanju cultural assets are collected, anyone can access the information about various spaces and goods needed for cultural activities. There are 172 spaces ready for meetings, concerts, lectures, and events, and you can obtain information on 205 shareable items, from chairs and tables, to all sorts of tools. It is a precious record of Wanju assets that the sharing culture exploring team, comprised of 40 citizens, in 2020 visited every corner of Wanju to check and put down, and this year they have continued checkups and made additions to share the resource information status.Wanju’s Culture Reception Rooms Increasing Without the Addition of Physical Spaces‘Culture Sharing Space of Our Village’ refers to a space ‘more familiar than home.’ Although there are so many facilities and spaces for cultural activities, this is a kind of activity that gives cultural reception rooms for us to visit, like our homes visiting our close neighbors. There exists a more important thing than the material space in ‘Culture Sharing Space of Our Village’; the point is no other than ‘people’ and ‘relationships.’ Every village, and every owner of the space does their own cultural activities. Of course the owners’ ideas started from ‘our village,’ The owners of each space who have experienced cultural activities are experimenting with their ideas to meet their neighbors. The ‘1 million won lab’ held in each space is a process of jointly developing and realizing unique cultural contents based on the characteristics of participants and spaces.Knock, Knock, Shall We Do It Together? Talent-sharing bringing neighbors closer‘Talent Sharing Club, A Class for All’ aims to make opportunities to share and enjoy personal interests, tastes, and habits with neighbors more actively in order to communicate better. People’s personal interests were recognized as their talents, and the results became the sources of one day classes where they are able to communicate with neighbors. The number of participants increased at a rapid speed, and the participants became more diversified, ranging from children to senior ladies, as the theme of the class was personal interests. In the Talent Sharing Club, citizens quickly agreed with each other when it was emphasized that they did not want specialized lectures from experts, but that citizens with the same interests and hobbies could meet and share secrets with each other.Enjoying culture and solving the needs for space by the residents themselves.The project, which marks its third year since the operation of ‘Talent Sharing Club, A Class for All’ in March 2019, has conducted a total of 600 talent sharing classes as of October 2021. More than 2,000 citizens participated in the project. Starting with 120 times in the first year, the participation rate has more than doubled every year. In particular, it is of great significance considering that face-to-face activities have shrunk due to the COVID-19 pandemic last year and this year. It also has the meaning of trying to restore disconnected social relationships temporarily through talent sharing. The sharing culture of Wanju cultural city, is a project to make an independent foundation for citizens to solve their own needs for cultural enjoyment.

  2021.12.16

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  #Wanju’s Innovative Projects

  Projects Wanju citizens participate in that lead cultural autonomy governanceCultural city Wanju’s governance reclaims its citizens’ share

  Wanju, a community cultural city, where everything, from A to Z, is planned and carried out by the citizens themselves. The cultural city is d with the heads, minds, hands, and feet of the citizens of Wanju-gun.Citizens’ small-scale daily public forum ‘Meetings without representatives in Wanju’‘Meetings without representatives in Wanju’ is a small-scale daily public forum where citizens plan and execute their own decisions, from deciding agendas to recruiting participating citizens. In 2020, 166 public forums were set up, 113 agendas were discovered, and 841 citizens participated. This year, it hasn’t been easy for citizens to meet each other due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing, but 173 meetings were held, 74 agendas were discovered, and 453 citizens participated.‘Wanju Monthly Cultural City’; Cooperative Forums for SolutionsWanju Monthly Cultural City, a cooperative forum for finding solutions for problems, is a place to find ways for local agendas raised through the daily public forum ‘Meetings Without Representatives in Wanju.’ Agenda raisers, experts in related fields, and the Wanju Cultural City Support Center will set the stage for discussion to solve problems together.The results from this meeting will be made into specific policies and aid in the commercialization of Wanju-gun through the final public forum ’Wanju Cultural Assembly,’ after intensive research and pilot projects.‘Wanju Cultural Assembly’The Wanju Cultural Assembly is a venue for public and private cooperation in which citizens, administrators, related organizations, and experts all participate to make the agenda raised through civic diliberation government policy projects. Last year in 2020, Wanju-gun Office, Wanju-gun Council experts, and 128 citizens participated and agreed to ‘set up a local cultural safety net’, resulting in legislating ‘ordinances on the establishment of the relief system and safety net for the figures in crisis of the cultural industry of Wanju-gun’, the nation’s first such ordinance.‘Wanju Citizen Jury for Culture’ considering and deciding cultural city support projectsThe ‘Wanju Citizen Jury for Culture’ is a system that examines and selects projects to be supported in which local citizens become beneficiaries from the perspective of themselves. Last year, 44% of the total support budget was selected by the citizens themselves, and this year it has been established as a screening system to select more than 80% of the Wanju-gun cultural city support projects.The satisfaction with the support communities for the screening of a cultural jury, who are well aware of the needs of the region, was very high, and no complaints have been filed since the first implementation. In addition, it has a very positive effect on the satisfaction of citizens who have experienced jury activities and the perception of values for cultural city policies and projects.‘Wanju Citizen Planning Team for On-site Culture’; from planning to executionThe "Wanju Cultural Site Citizen Planning Group" consists of planners, execution groups, and partners in the field of cultural city projects that carry out the entire project. From hardware projects such as the creation of cultural spaces to ‘@Wanju Cultural Market Day’, ‘Wanju Cultural Healing School’, and ‘City Drawing, Cultural Regeneration Project’, 28 citizen planning groups are participating. Above all, the values of the activity are not only to collect opinions, but also to operate it from the planning stage through to the final implementation of the project.

  2021.12.16