National Commemoration Day 'Gohyang Sarang Day' Selected as September 4

Final Decision Made Through National Proposals and Voting

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 8th that the national commemorative day, ‘Hometown Love Day,’ has been selected as ‘September 4th’ through a public contest.

‘Hometown Love Day’ was established as a designated day under the ‘Hometown Love Donation Act’ to reflect on the value and importance of one’s hometown, and was selected through a public contest. A total of 2,254 people participated in the first public proposal, suggesting 301 dates, and among these, experts reviewed and selected five final candidate dates considering the frequency of suggestions, meanings, and reasons. A total of 9,448 people participated in the public vote for the five candidate dates.

The person who proposed September 4th stated the reason as ‘September is mainly the month when Chuseok, which reminds people of their hometown, takes place, and the 4th can represent both the meaning of love and the meaning of thinking (思), making it suitable for Hometown Love Day.’

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety will draw 20 winners from among the 299 people who proposed the five candidate dates and award each 300,000 KRW, and from the public vote participants, a total of 200 people will be drawn to receive 30,000 KRW worth of NongHyup Mall points.

With ‘Hometown Love Day’ being decided through public participation, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety will revise the enforcement decree of the Hometown Love Donation Act within the first half of the year.

Choi Hoon, Director of the Local Autonomy and Balanced Development Office at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, expressed, “We deeply thank all citizens who showed great interest and participated in the designation of ‘Hometown Love Day,’” and added, “We hope that the ‘Hometown Love Donation System,’ which has been implemented since this year, will successfully take root, prevent local extinction, and serve as a catalyst for national balanced development.”