"The 30th Farmers' Day National Event Held in Wonju, the 'Original Birthplace'"

Wonju Federation of Rural Leaders and Related Organizations
Promote Bid to Host the 30th National Agricultural Day Event

Wonju City, Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province (Mayor Won Kang-su), announced on the 16th that the Wonju Federation of Rural Leaders (President Kim In-sik) held an event on the 14th at the Wonju Agricultural Technology Center to support the bid for hosting the ‘30th National Agricultural Day’ commemorative event in Wonju.

The Nongchon Jidoja Wonju City Federation (President Kim In-sik) held an event on the 14th at the Wonju Agricultural Technology Center to pray for Wonju to host the 30th National Agricultural Day celebration. Photo by Wonju City Hall

So far, the Wonju Federation of Rural Leaders, along with agricultural organizations, Wonju City, and the NongHyup, have been conducting a city-wide signature campaign to promote the necessity of holding the 30th National Agricultural Day commemorative event in Wonju, the birthplace of Agricultural Day.

Marking its 62nd anniversary this year, Wonju’s Agricultural Day originated from the Wonseong-gun Farming Improvement Club, the predecessor of the Wonju Federation of Rural Leaders, which held the first Farmers’ Day event on November 11 at 11 o’clock in 1964, based on the ‘Samto Ideology’ that states “People are born from the soil, live on the soil, and return to the soil,” with the character ‘to (土)’ appearing three times on 11/11 at 11 o’clock.

From 1980 to 1995, Wonju City continuously petitioned the government to designate Agricultural Day as a legal national holiday. As a result, in 1996, Agricultural and Fishery Workers’ Day was selected as a national commemorative day.

In 2002, to commemorate this, a monument celebrating the establishment of Agricultural Day was erected in Dangun Neighborhood Park, where the first Farmers’ Day event was held.

Every year on November 11, Wonju City holds the ‘Samto Ceremony,’ a harvest thanksgiving ritual. Additionally, as part of the Agricultural Day events, the Samto Festival is held, which the city aims to establish as a nationwide cultural tourism agricultural and rural cultural festival. This year, it plans to hold the festival together with the 30th National Agricultural Day commemorative event.

A Wonju City official stated, “By hosting the national Agricultural Day event, we will elevate the status of Wonju’s Agricultural Day and boost the pride of Wonju’s farmers,” adding, “We will do our best to secure the commemorative event in cooperation with related organizations.”