Abandoned rail sites, riverside spaces among 54 winning ideas to revitalize rural Korea

Fifty-four ideas for reimagining rural spaces — including plans to integrate a local silk industry into abandoned railway stations and tracks, and to link riverside areas with rest, residential and work zones — have been selected as winners of this year's rural planning and architecture competitions.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced Tuesday that it had chosen 27 winners each for the 24th Korea Rural Planning Competition and the 21st Korea Rural Architecture Competition, for a combined total of 54 entries. The ministry holds the two competitions annually to uncover ideas for rural spaces and buildings that draw on the distinctive character of each region.

The planning competition received 77 submissions. The grand prize — the minister's award — went to "Pulmu: Breathing Life into Living," a proposal centered on Hongdong-myeon in Hongseong-gun. Two excellence awards, four merit awards and 20 honorable mentions were also named.

The grand prize entry proposes a rural spatial model linking three specialized zones along the Sapgyocheon riverside: a scenic farming district serving as a rest area, a rural village protection district designed to foster community life, and a rural convergence industry district built around duck farming. Judges praised the entry for weaving together multiple specialized zones while drawing on the area's natural environment and eco-friendly agricultural practices.

This year's planning competition invited proposals for spatial development strategies that bring out the character of rural specialized districts, following the enactment of the Rural Space Restructuring Act in March 2024.

The architecture competition drew 73 submissions, with 27 selected as winners. The grand prize went to "A Day Woven in Silk," a proposal to repurpose an abandoned station and disused railway land in Munsan-eup, Jinju. Two excellence awards, four merit awards and 20 honorable mentions were also selected.

The grand prize entry envisions a service complex on the abandoned station and rail site, incorporating production, experience, residential and community facilities, with the production and experience components tied to the area's signature silk industry. The ministry said it gave the entry high marks for showing how idle facilities and a locally distinctive industry could be combined in a model replicable by other rural communities.

Fourteen outstanding works from both competitions will be on display at a special exhibition during the 2026 Korea Agriculture Fair, held at the aT Center in Seoul from Sept. 10 to Sept. 13. The awards ceremony will take place Sept. 10 at the same venue. The winning entries will also be posted on the competition website.

Jeon Han-yeong, director general of the ministry's Rural Policy Bureau, said he hoped the winning entries would move beyond the idea stage and translate into tangible results in designing more beautiful and efficient rural communities. "We will continue to support efforts to incorporate competition outcomes into rural spatial planning and other regional development projects," he said.