Gwangju Dong-gu Community Activity Excellence Awarded 'Minister of the Interior and Safety Award'

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 19th that Jisan 1-dong's "Miracle of Apple Village Alley" was selected as an excellent case in the field activity category of the "2022 Local Community Activity Best Practices Contest" hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and received the Minister of the Interior and Safety Award.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety has been discovering, selecting, and awarding excellent cases that resolved local issues and revitalized communities through local community activities. This year, based on criteria such as ▲sustainability ▲originality ▲potential for expansion ▲degree of community participation, a total of 11 communities nationwide were awarded, including 8 in the field activity category and 3 in the media activity category.

The recipient of the Minister of the Interior and Safety Award, the "Jisan 1-dong Apple Village Residents' Association (Chairman Yoon Chung-geol)," is a community formed by residents themselves to solve problems in the alley behind Chosun University’s back gate, which suffered from illegal dumping and illegal parking.

The Jisan 1-dong Apple Village Residents' Association united with nearby one-room apartment owners and residents to plant apple trees throughout the alley and nurture them together, transforming the disorderly alley into a clean and fragrant street.

The main activities include ▲urban farming training ▲installation of rainwater piggy banks ▲operation of Apple Day ▲Apple Village Festival ▲development of the Apple Village brand, which significantly contributed to strengthening residents' capabilities and achieving continuous resident-led community activities.

District Mayor Lim Taek said, “It is meaningful that the voluntary community activities of residents who sought to solve village problems themselves have achieved the great honor of receiving the Minister of the Interior and Safety Award,” and added, “We will continue to spare no support to revitalize village communities so that successful models of resident cooperative village community projects can be continuously discovered.”