Gyeonggi-do to Invest 60.1 Billion KRW This Year in Garden Projects Including Village Gardens and Urban Forests

Osan Village Garden

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province will create 18 village gardens this year on idle or leftover land within the province and train 150 citizen gardeners. It will also work on establishing urban forests and fine dust-blocking forests to achieve carbon neutrality and respond to climate change.

On the 13th, Gyeonggi Province announced that it will implement the 2023 garden industry policy with the goal of "spreading garden culture in daily life through the creation of green spaces."

The province will invest a budget of 60.1 billion KRW to promote projects in various fields, including ▲ improving residents' quality of life through the spread of garden culture ▲ realizing carbon neutrality by creating urban forests ▲ operating provincial parks focused on residents' rest and leisure activities ▲ establishing a foundation for regional revitalization through the operation and management of geological parks.

First, the province will create a total of 18 village gardens in 12 cities and counties such as Icheon and Pocheon, including 5 public-type gardens and 13 citizen-led gardens (led by village communities of 10 or more people). Village gardens are projects that create and continuously maintain gardens on idle or environmentally harmful land. From 2018 to last year, village gardens were created in 82 locations across 22 cities and counties within the province, including Suwon and Yangpyeong. The province supports gardening education to ensure continuous maintenance beyond just creation.

In addition, to cultivate specialized knowledge and practical skills related to plants and gardens, the province will train 270 landscaping garden university students and 150 citizen gardeners. Furthermore, utilizing the trained personnel, garden management activities linked with volunteer work will be conducted targeting schools, welfare facilities, and rental housing. Also, to share the value of gardens and promote garden culture, the 11th Gyeonggi Garden Culture Expo will be held this October at Saebit Park in Gwangmyeong.

Seol Jong-jin, head of the Garden Industry Division of the province, said, "To meet the residents' interest in gardens and realize the philosophy of the 8th term of the provincial government, we reorganized the Park and Greenery Division into the Garden Industry Division. We will strive to make Gyeonggi Province a place where gardens can be accessed anytime and anywhere."