Uiryeong-gun's 'The Road to Toegye Teacher's In-laws' Selected for Ministry of the Interior and Safety's 'Gohyang Olrae' Contest Project

20 Billion Won Project ... Only Gyeongnam Selected

Garaemyeon Transforms into a 'Local Study Destination'

Uiryeong County in Gyeongnam announced on the 10th that it has been selected for the ‘Gohyang Olrae (GO鄕ALL來) Project,’ which aims to boost the local economy by attracting a living population.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 9th that 12 local governments were finally selected for support through the ‘Gohyang Olrae Project’ competition, and Uiryeong County was the only one in Gyeongnam selected in the ‘Local Study Abroad’ category.

The Road to Toegye Yi Hwang’s In-Law’s House in Uiryeong County Selected for the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s ‘Hometown Olrae’ Contest Project.
[Image provided by Uiryeong County]

The Gohyang Olrae Project, launched in 2023, supports regional revitalization by attracting a living population that is not officially registered as residents but stays for extended periods. There are five types of projects: ‘Dual Residency,’ ‘Local Venture,’ ‘Local Study Abroad,’ ‘Workation,’ and ‘Retiree Village.’

‘Local Study Abroad’ supports students from cities who transfer to local schools for more than six months, and allows their entire family or some members to relocate and live together in the area by providing housing and various local programs.

The county plans to invest an additional 1 billion KRW in special grants, 100 million KRW in provincial funds, and 900 million KRW in county funds, for a total project budget of 2 billion KRW, to build six rental housing units (A=600㎡) on unused land in Garye-myeon.

Meanwhile, Toegye, a great scholar who systematized Neo-Confucianism in Joseon and was called the ‘Zhu Xi of the East,’ was born in Andong, Gyeongbuk. However, his connection with Uiryeong began when he married into the Heo family of Garye in Uiryeong at the age of 21.

From the early days of his marriage, Toegye showed special affection for his wife’s family, carefully attending to their affairs. His deep love is evident in his collected writings, where he wrote that he could not leave for government service in Hanyang out of concern for his elderly mother-in-law.

Toegye’s legacy left many traces in Uiryeong, most notably his handwritten calligraphy of ‘Garye Dongcheon’ (嘉禮洞天: a beautifully scenic place like a folding screen) on a rock wall in the village where his wife’s family lived.

The county prepared for this project competition by leveraging the storytelling of ‘Toegye’s wife’s family,’ and highlighted the suitability for an educational complex and the strengths as a healing-specialized city by linking resources in Garye-myeon such as the Gyeongnam Education Office Student Training Center and Jagulsan Natural Recreation Forest, achieving valuable results.

In particular, Garye-myeon is already undergoing urban regeneration by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and a basic living hub project by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, so the selection for the Gohyang Olrae Project raises high expectations for regional development and population growth.

County Governor Oh Taewan said, “By increasing the number of people who visit, stay, and are active in Uiryeong, we will further revitalize the local economy,” and added, “We will also realize a project to make Uiryeong a tourist attraction linked to Toegye, adding one more reason to visit Uiryeong.”