Jinju City, Jinju Love! Hometown Love! 200 Days Since Donation Campaign Launch

Over 1,700 Donors Donate More Than 100 Million Won

It has already been over 200 days since the hometown love donation system was first implemented on January 1, 2023. Jinju City in Gyeongnam has received over 100 million won in donations from more than 1,700 donors during this period.

Among the donors, 99% contributed 100,000 won or less, which qualifies for a full tax credit. The age group from their 30s to 50s accounted for 65%, indicating that the most economically active generation had the highest donation rate. By region, 70% of the donations came from local residents.

The most popular thank-you gift is the mobile Jinju Love Gift Certificate, followed by orders for white rice. Products made from Jangsaeng Doraji, a Jinju specialty, as well as agricultural product bundles and eggs, have also consistently received love from donors.

Group photo of Jinju City Jinju Love! Hometown Love! Donation.

Notably, Hamo goods, which have firmly established themselves as Jinju’s tourism character, have captured the hearts of donors.

Hamo goods thank-you gifts, which include a gift set of a Hamo doll along with an eco bag or Hamo towel, are gaining great popularity alongside Hamo’s rising fame.

In July, the city expanded the selection of thank-you gifts by adding 10 new items to the existing 26 registered products, broadening the choices available to donors. The newly added Hamo macaron product has also become popular immediately after registration.

Jinju City plans to promote an idea contest for hometown love fund projects to find ‘small but meaningful projects’ that will bring happiness to citizens using the collected donations. After gathering various opinions, the city intends to launch full-scale projects starting next year to ensure that the goodwill of donors is fully delivered to the citizens.

Jinju City is not only focusing on fundraising but also making efforts to ensure the stable establishment of the hometown love donation system.

In March, Mayor Jo Gyu-il took the lead by donating to sister cities and exchange cities, setting an example. Vice Mayor Shin Jong-woo supported the successful establishment of the hometown love donation system by sending his heart to his hometown Changnyeong along with local council members. Subsequently, senior officials who understood the purpose of the hometown love donation system also participated, creating exemplary cases of donations to 10 counties within the province.

Jinju city officials have actively engaged in hometown love donation activities, supporting various regions including their own districts, sister cities, and neighboring cities and counties.

Since the beginning of the hometown love donation system, Jinju City has actively promoted and encouraged participation in collaboration with NongHyup, and the results are gradually becoming visible.

In September last year, ahead of the implementation of the hometown love donation system, Jinju City and the NongHyup Jinju Branch signed a ‘business agreement for the successful establishment of the hometown love donation system.’ The NongHyup Jinju Branch has shared information about Jinju’s representative agricultural and livestock products and worked with various companies to prepare high-quality thank-you gifts.

Since last year, NongHyup has actively promoted the hometown love donation system at events and locations such as the Namgang Yudeung Festival and Jinju Station, targeting visitors and holiday travelers.

The active participation of NongHyup employees in donations has also contributed significantly to Jinju City’s fundraising. In March, employees from Jinju, including Kang Tae-young, Vice President of NH NongHyup Bank Central Headquarters, visited Jinju together and donated 6.2 million won to the hometown love fund.

Especially, the mutual donations between Jinju City and Geoje City NongHyup, which have continued four times recently, confirmed the creation of a donation culture that spread like a trend due to the interest and shared purpose of NongHyup employees. As a result, Jinju City and Geoje City raised a total of 18.9 million won each.

This month, employees of Jinju West NongHyup and Sancheong County NongHyup also mutually donated 10 million won each, supporting the two cities with active exchanges.

Jinju City expects the peak season for the hometown love donation system to be in the second half of the year, when office workers will be interested ahead of year-end tax settlements, and plans to promote intensive publicity activities at that time.

Meanwhile, the hometown love donation system, which has been in effect since January 1 this year, allows anyone to donate to local governments other than their registered address and receive tax credit benefits along with local agricultural and specialty products as thank-you gifts from the local government. Anyone can participate in hometown love donations through the Hometown Love e-Um system or by visiting NongHyup Bank.