Yeongwol to get rural study hub as 15 localities win regional development grants

Fifteen local governments across the country — including Hongcheon, Yeongwol and Jeongseon in Gangwon Province, and Yeongdong and Danyang in North Chungcheong Province — will carry out community-tailored regional support projects ranging from idle asset regeneration to expanded medical and care services.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced Wednesday that it had selected 15 such projects through its 2026 regional development project competition.

The program is a bottom-up competition in which local governments in 70 designated growth-promotion counties and cities identify and apply for projects based on local conditions and residents' needs, with funding directed toward everyday convenience, cultural and welfare facilities closely tied to residents' daily lives.

This year, the ministry focused on selecting projects that go beyond basic infrastructure construction — prioritizing initiatives that residents will actually use and that leverage idle assets to improve fiscal efficiency. Each selected project will receive up to 3 billion won ($2.02 million) in national funding.

The selected projects cover idle asset regeneration and reuse, expansion of medical and care services, activation of cultural and tourism resources, and improvements to transportation access and residential infrastructure.

Among the winners, Hongcheon will convert a closed school into an arts playground for children and families, while Andong will remodel the decommissioned Andong Railway Bridge into a pedestrian and leisure space. Sancheong will transform an aging, underused facility into a multipurpose community complex where residents can sample, experience and purchase traditional herbal medicine — with youth involved in its operation.

Yeongdong will expand an aging community health subcenter into a health support platform combining medical services with wellness programs. Haenam will build a barrier-free smart rehabilitation hub shared by four neighboring counties — Haenam, Wando, Jindo and Gangjin — creating a cross-regional cooperation model that avoids duplicate investment among adjacent local governments. Goryeong will establish the Daegaya Community Center, blending unique lodging with everyday conveniences, while Danyang will renovate a community gathering space, small park and sports ground in the Danseong area to serve as a hub for recreational sports and neighborhood activities.

Jeongseon, Buyeo, Jangheung and Cheongsong will link their distinctive cultural and tourism assets to residents' cultural lives and income opportunities. Jinan, Yeongwol and Gangjin will pursue transportation and residential infrastructure projects aimed at improving mobility and living conditions to draw in more lifestyle residents. In Yeongwol, a Murungdowon complex hub project will be developed to attract lifestyle residents through rural study programs.

The 15 selected projects will receive a combined total budget of about 80.4 billion won, including 38.9 billion won in national funds. Full implementation is set to begin in 2027, following the formal designation of regional development project zones and the finalization of project plans.

Jeong Eui-gyeong, director general of the ministry's Land and Urban Affairs Bureau, said the ministry would "support the use of idle assets such as closed schools and public facilities as everyday-life facilities that are truly necessary for local residents' lives, and ensure that projects produce results quickly and can be shared as successful models with other regions."