Gyeonggi Province to Develop 17 Mountain Villages This Year

Gyeonggi Province announced on the 18th that it will develop 17 mountain villages with poor living conditions this year, transforming them into leisure and tourism spaces harmonized with nature such as forests and valleys.

The province plans to complete living environment improvement projects in 17 mountain villages including Janghheung Village in Yeoju, Jungwon and Gosong villages in Yangpyeong, Geumdonng Village in Pocheon, and Yeongdong Village in Gwangju by investing 24 billion won by the end of this year.

Target mountain villages for living environment improvement projects are those with a population density of 1.44 people or less per hectare, which is below the national average population density of eup, myeon, and dong areas, or those with arable land comprising 26% or less of forest area.

The province plans to review the 172 mountain villages within the province that fall below these standards, taking into account nearby tourist attractions and income bases, and invest 1.4 billion won per mountain village to implement environmental improvement projects in phases.

The province will carry out access road and village road paving, water and sewage system improvements, and stream maintenance projects as part of the mountain village living environment improvement initiative.

Additionally, it will support the development of production infrastructure such as the construction of low-temperature storage facilities and establishment of promotional websites to increase income through forest resource utilization projects including cultivation of ganoderma and shiitake mushrooms, seasoning vegetables, and harvesting of Korean maple sap.

Furthermore, the province will develop forest shelters that allow overnight stays, forest observation courses, camping sites, outdoor experience facilities, and wild herb gardens, transforming these areas into family weekend destinations in line with the implementation of the five-day work week system.