Yeongju City Selected for 'Soybean Convergence Complex Construction' Project... Secures 2 Billion KRW in Funding

Establishing Strategic Development Base for Yeongjukong (Buseoktae)... Promoting K-Food Growth

Yeongju City, Gyeongbuk Province, announced on the 11th that it has been selected for the Rural Development Administration's '2025 Soybean Self-Sufficient Convergence Complex Development' project, securing a project budget of 2 billion KRW over two years.

Jangsu-myeon Buseoktae Cultivation Complex.

With this selection, the city aims to complete the 'Yeongju Kong (Buseoktae) Industry Development Model' by establishing a convergence and cooperation system covering the entire process from production to consumption, processing, distribution, and variety development.

The city plans to openly recruit participants related to the Buseoktae industry in December to form a convergence consultative body.

The project participants will include Buseoktae producers (crop groups, agricultural cooperatives, double-cropping crop groups, etc.), harvesting, drying, and storage (local agricultural cooperatives), processing and distribution (Buseoktae processing companies, local agricultural cooperatives, Buseoktae Kong restaurants), and variety development (Gyeongsangbuk-do Agricultural Research and Extension Services).

In the first year, the project will focus on establishing a labor-saving, climate-resilient safe soybean production complex, strengthening equipment for double-cropping demonstration cultivation and processing plants, and providing cultivation education and consulting. In the second year, the focus will shift to new product development and production, strengthening promotional marketing capabilities linked to the sixth industry, and other practical tasks.

Upon completion, the Buseoktae cultivation area is expected to increase from 73 ha to 100 ha, production volume from 130 tons to 200 tons, and gross income from 845 million KRW to 1.3 billion KRW. In the processing sector, sales of six products, including traditional doenjang, are expected to rise from 2.138 billion KRW to 3 billion KRW.

As a result, a strategic foundation for the development of Buseoktae will be established, contributing to increased agricultural income through reduced production costs, optimization of rice production, and improvement of the self-sufficiency rate of staple crops.

Kwon Younggeum, head of the Yeongju Agricultural Technology Center, said, "With this project selection, we are now able to establish a stable production base for Buseoktae," adding, "We will do our best to develop Buseoktae as a representative K-food through product diversification and quality enhancement, leading to a substantial increase in farmers' income."

Yeongju Agricultural Technology Center.