Dolsan Jungang Elementary, Seungnam Middle Oeseo Branch, Dosang Elementary, Hongnong Nam Elementary Gyema Branch Selected
[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Jun-kyung] The Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education announced on the 4th that it has selected four closed schools?Yeosu Dolsan Jungang Elementary School, Suncheon Seungnam Middle School Oeseo Branch, Gokseong Dosang Elementary School, and Yeonggwang Hongnong Namcho Gyema Branch?as pilot sites for the Empathy Rest Area project, with plans to open them in October.
This project was initiated with the purpose of creating a model that revitalizes local communities by collaborating with local governments and village communities to transform closed schools into emotional centers of the community and open them to the public.
The Office of Education received a total of 21 recommendations from city and county education support offices in February, evaluated them based on feasibility, effectiveness, and innovativeness, and selected four sites for pilot operation after on-site inspections.
Funding was secured in the first supplementary budget of this year to establish basic facilities and environments, with plans to open in October.
Yeosu Dolsan Jungang Elementary School boasts excellent scenery including forests and a wide coastline. Seasonal flower beds and gardens will be created on the playground to provide a pleasant resting place for local residents and visitors. Yeosu City plans to support the manpower needed for garden creation through the City Hall’s Population and Job Department and public work personnel, and management will be entrusted to the village community.
Suncheon Seungnam Middle School Oeseo Branch, closed in 2018, plans to establish an ecological experience learning center and operate a local food store, as well as create camping facilities such as car camping or glamping sites to serve as a living cultural space for community recovery. Oeseo-myeon, Suncheon City will provide 30 million won, and the village autonomous association will support 10 million won.
Gokseong Dosang Elementary School plans to operate as a family school by creating a rest area utilizing the pine forest at the entrance and securing 90 million won in support funds from Gokseong County. With modular housing and other convenience facilities available, and nearby tourist attractions such as Dorimsa Temple and Train Village, it aims to become a popular destination easily accessible to both locals and tourists.
Yeonggwang-gun Hongnong Namcho Gyema Branch, located just a one-minute walk from Gamami Beach, has all its old buildings demolished. Plans include creating a park, walking trails, and exercise facilities to serve as a resting place for both locals and tourists. Yeonggwang-gun will provide a subsidy of 100 million won.
Park Young-soo, Director of Finance, expressed gratitude to the local governments that showed great interest and participation in the pilot project utilizing closed schools as empathy rest areas, and urged the selected regions to gather local opinions and carefully plan the selection of locations and the composition of rest area spaces, including camping and car camping, to set exemplary precedents.
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