Jeongseon County Selected for 2026 National Heritage Administration Project
Jeongseon County in Gangwon Province has laid the groundwork to promote both the preservation and utilization of local cultural heritage in a balanced way, as it was selected for the 2026 Community Transmission Revitalization Support Project and the National Heritage Utilization Project for Our Region, both organized by the National Heritage Administration.
In this round of selections, Jeongseon County was chosen for a wide range of projects, including the Community Transmission Revitalization Support Project titled "Gangwon Arirang Cultural Industrialization Project," as well as National Heritage Night Tour, Traditional Temple Utilization Project, Confucian School and Seowon Utilization Project, and the Lively National Heritage Utilization Project. This enables the county to pursue diverse transmission and utilization initiatives in the field of local cultural heritage.
First, the "Gangwon Arirang Cultural Industrialization Project," which was selected for the Community Transmission Revitalization Support Project, is the first project to be chosen under new guidelines introduced this year to encourage inter-municipal collaboration and systematic management. The project will receive 140 million won in funding. As the lead municipality, Jeongseon will collaborate with Wonju and Sokcho, building an archive for Gangwon Arirang, organizing academic lectures and local tourism centered on Arirang, and arranging joint performances, thereby contributing to new approaches for sustaining cultural transmission.
For the National Heritage Utilization Project for Our Region, experiential programs that reinterpret Jeongseon’s representative cultural heritage in a modern way were selected. The newly chosen National Heritage Night Tour project, "Jeongseon Walking Night Museum," is expected to invigorate local tourism by offering nighttime experiential content set against the backdrop of Jeongseon’s streets and national heritage sites.
Additionally, several other projects were selected: "A New Path Beginning at Jeongamsa" as a traditional temple utilization project centered on Jeongamsa Temple; "Following the Scholar’s Path, Arariyo, Jeongseon Hyanggyo" as a Confucian school and Seowon national heritage utilization project; and "Cooking, Observing, and Time Traveling" as a lively national heritage project utilizing natural monuments such as Hwaam Cave. In total, the county secured a project budget of 590 million won (including 236 million won in national funding) for these national heritage utilization initiatives.
Through these projects, the county aims to strengthen the foundation for the transmission of Jeongseon Arirang, newly pursue collaborative assignments among designated transmission communities in Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province such as Wonju and Sokcho, and foster inter-municipal cooperation through Gangwon Arirang. By promoting experiential cultural tourism based on local cultural heritage, the county plans to invigorate the local economy. Furthermore, it intends to implement a sustainable cultural heritage policy by shifting the focus from preservation to utilization.
Kim Jaeseong, Director of the Culture and Sports Division, said, "Being selected for these National Heritage Administration projects provides us with a greater opportunity to develop our region’s national heritage, including Jeongseon Arirang, Jeongamsa Temple, and Jeongseon Hyanggyo, into new content. Through this, we will enhance the value of our cultural heritage and use it as a stepping stone to develop Jeongseon into a cultural city."
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