Gyeonggi Province Selects 4 Outstanding Villages in '6th Happy Village Development' Contest

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Hong Seong-gil] Gyeonggi Province announced on July 4 that it has selected four outstanding villages through the '6th Gyeonggi Province Happy Village Development Contest' to share and promote achievements in community-led happy village development by residents.

Through the contest held on July 2 at Hyupseong University in Hwaseong, the four outstanding villages selected were: ▲'Haenghyeon 1-ri Village, Sangmyeon, Gapyeong-gun' in the income and experience category ▲'Gicheon 2-ri Village, Paltan-myeon, Hwaseong-si' in the landscape and environment category ▲'Sangjapo-ri Village, Gaegun-myeon, Yangpyeong-gun' in the culture and welfare category ▲'Haenghyeon 2-ri Village, Sangmyeon, Gapyeong-gun' in the beautiful rural development campaign category.

The province selected a total of nine villages from rural communities in Gyeonggi Province that had submitted applications in advance on the Happy Village Development homepage, based on city and county recommendations, through document review and on-site evaluation. From these, four villages in each category were selected as outstanding villages.

Notably, the contest was attended by numerous elderly residents who supported their respective villages, and a 94-year-old was among them, drawing attention.

The four villages selected as outstanding at the contest will receive commendations from the Gyeonggi Provincial Governor and will participate as Gyeonggi Province's representatives in the '6th Happy Village Development Contest' hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on July 28.

Prize money will be awarded to winning villages in the national contest: presidential award for gold (40 million won), prime minister award (30 million won), minister award for silver (20 million won), minister award for bronze (15 million won), and minister award for selection (10 million won). Additionally, incentives can be received when applying for new general agricultural and fishing village development projects through 2022.

Meanwhile, at the first national competition, Yeomul-ri Village in Yangpyeong received the presidential award. Last year, Jangdok-dae Village in Pocheon in the income and experience category, Baramssae Village in Pyeongtaek in the landscape and environment category, and Sangdeok Village in Yongin in the beautiful rural development category received ministerial awards from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

A provincial official stated, "During the preparation of the contest, village residents came together to enjoy and harmonize with one another, creating a momentum for building villages that are themselves happy and vibrant," and expressed hopes that "outstanding villages in the province will also achieve good results in the national contest."