Osan City Benchmarking Wanju County's 'Regional Revitalization'

Osan City sent civil servants on a benchmarking trip to study regional development in other areas.

Mayor Kwak Sang-wook of Osan City, along with approximately 50 senior officials at grade 5 and above, visited Wanju County in North Jeolla Province on the 1st and 2nd for a one-night, two-day benchmarking tour to study advanced cases of regional revitalization, including Andaek Chehammaeul, Indeok Maeul, and Changpo Maeul, as well as the Local Economic Circulation Center.

Mayor Kwak Sang-wook, who participated in the benchmarking, stated: "Senior civil servants visited advanced cases such as Wanju County's village cooperative companies, community business initiatives, Dure farms, and the Local Economic Circulation Center to directly experience and feel these models firsthand, so we can bring about a new opportunity to exercise leadership in change and innovation suited to our circumstances."

On the first day of the benchmarking, officials received approximately 30 minutes of briefings on major projects and general information from Wanju County staff, then began the tour with a visit to the Korean Alcohol Museum under the guidance of the Wanju Village Travel Corps director, followed by visits to the North Jeolla Province Art Museum, Andaek Village, and the Korean Permaculture Center in sequence.

On the second day, the tour concluded with visits to Indeok Dure Farm, the Local Economic Circulation Center, and Gozan Changpo Village in order.

A city official stated: "We will make efforts to ensure that substantive and progressive mutual exchange between our institutions and organizations continues through this visit."

Meanwhile, Wanju County in North Jeolla Province has a population of 85,050 and 706 civil servants, with an administrative structure comprising 2 eups, 11 myeons, 1 bureau, 12 divisions, and 4 offices, with a fiscal budget of 382.7 billion won and a fiscal independence rate of 21.4%. Despite being a typical rural area, it has become a model case of regional vitalization initiatives led by County Governor Lim Jung-yeop, continuing to attract benchmarking visits from local governments nationwide.