Meaningful Lunar New Year Gifts through Tax Credits and Return Gifts
Stronger Promotion to Expand Participation in the Program’s Third Year
Rising Orders for Agricultural and Processed Products...Broader Sales Channels for Producers
With the Lunar New Year holidays approaching, Gyeongju City is offering a new option through the Hometown Love Donation Program for those considering a "meaningful gift."
As a participatory donation culture spreads, allowing people not only to give a simple gift but also to support their hometown and contribute to regional development, changes are emerging in holiday consumption trends as well.
The Hometown Love Donation Program is a system in which individuals donate to a local government other than the one corresponding to their registered residence, and the recipient local government uses the donations to fund regional development and welfare projects for residents.
Joo Nakyoung, mayor of Gyeongju, is conducting a wheelchair boarding demonstration using a specially equipped mobility support bus for people with disabilities introduced as the first project under the Hometown Love Fund. Courtesy of Gyeongju City
Donors receive local specialty products as return gifts along with tax credits, which is drawing growing interest as it allows them to achieve "tax saving," "sharing," and "holiday gifting" all at once.
Marking the third year of the program’s implementation, Gyeongju City is using the Lunar New Year holidays as an opportunity to expand participation in donations, while also stepping up promotion of return gifts to maximize the positive impact on the local economy.
In particular, the city is pursuing a strategy that links the Hometown Love Donation Program to boosting consumption of local agricultural, livestock, and marine products by taking advantage of the period when demand for holiday gifts is concentrated.
Through fundraising via the Hometown Love Fund, Gyeongju City is both supplementing its local finances and providing practical support for expanding sales channels for local farmers and small business owners.
Because most of the return gifts consist of products produced and processed in the region, donations directly translate into a virtuous cycle for the local economy.
Ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays, premium Korean beef, seasonal fruits, traditional confectionery, and processed food sets are proving particularly popular as gifts.
As their combination of reasonable prices and high quality stands out, inquiries about group donations from companies and hometown associations are steadily continuing.
This year, Gyeongju City has set a fundraising target of 500 million won for the Hometown Love Fund.
Individuals can donate up to 20 million won per year, and anyone whose registered residence is not in Gyeongju is eligible to participate.
Donations can be made easily online through the "Gohyangsarang e-eum" website, and can also be submitted offline by visiting NongHyup Bank or local agricultural cooperatives.
Tax benefits have also been further enhanced. Starting from January 1, 2026, donations up to 100,000 won will be fully eligible for tax credits, and a differentiated credit rate will be applied to amounts exceeding that threshold.
For the portion exceeding 100,000 won and up to 200,000 won, a 44% credit rate will be applied, and for the portion exceeding 200,000 won, a 16.5% credit rate will be applied, allowing donors to feel a tangible tax-saving effect.
In addition, donors can choose return gifts within 30% of the donation amount, making the program a practical option for citizens preparing holiday gifts.
Gyeongju City is currently offering a total of 30 types of return gifts.
In the agricultural and marine products category, premium agricultural and livestock products are included, such as Gyeongju Isageum seasonal fruits (tomatoes and melons), Gyeongju Millennium Korean Beef, mixed sets of Korean pork belly and neck, Gyeongju Isageum rice, king oyster mushrooms, and fermented red yeast rice.
Processed foods include Gyeongju Bread, Hwangnam Bread, glutinous barley bread, Gyodong Beopju (traditional liquor), traditional tea, wine, perilla oil, and baesuk (traditional pear dessert drink). Traditional brassware and ceramics, as well as cultural and tourism services such as Gyeongju Pay, Gyeongju Mall, and point vouchers, are also offered as return gifts.
As the range of return gifts has diversified in this way, there is continued feedback that "the options for gift selection are broad," and during the holiday season in particular, orders are increasingly concentrated on representative local foods.
The donations raised are managed through the separately established Hometown Love Fund.
The funds are used for a variety of projects aimed at improving citizens’ quality of life, including support for socially vulnerable groups, youth development, promotion of culture, arts, and health, and revitalization of local communities.
Concrete results are already visible.
Last year, a project to support the replacement of an aging school bus for the Gyeongju City Comprehensive Welfare Center for the Disabled was implemented as the first project of the Hometown Love Fund, contributing to improved mobility convenience for transportation-vulnerable residents and enhanced welfare services.
This is regarded as a representative case in which donations have led directly to improvements in the region’s welfare infrastructure.
Since the system was introduced, Gyeongju City has maintained a stable fundraising trend.
In 2023, the city recorded 5,240 donations totaling 642 million won; in 2024, 5,642 donations totaling 621 million won; and in 2025, 5,483 donations totaling 632 million won, drawing steady participation from donors and hometown supporters across the country.
This year, the city plans to further expand the list of items by additionally inviting suppliers of return gifts, and to broaden the base of participation in donations by combining on-site promotional visits to hometown associations and companies with intensive promotion during the year-end tax settlement season.
Mayor Ju Nakyoung of Gyeongju said, "The Hometown Love Donation Program is a meaningful system that allows people to support their hometown and take part in regional development," adding, "With the Lunar New Year holidays upon us, I hope many will choose Gyeongju’s excellent local specialties as return gifts and join in warm sharing through their donations."
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