Haenam-gun is expanding rural living infrastructure to improve residential conditions and enhance access to everyday services.
Haenam-gun is pressing ahead with a project to build community hub facilities across its rural townships, backed by a large injection of central government funding.
The project is a national grant program run by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. It aims to strengthen cultural, welfare and community functions centered on township offices, improving rural residents' access to daily services and their overall living conditions.
The county secured a total project budget of 38 billion won ($27.4 million) — including 26.6 billion won in central government grants — through a "rural partnership agreement" signed in 2023. The funds will support the construction of community hub facilities in six of seven designated townships: Samsan, Hwasan, Hyeonsan, Bugil, Okcheon and Gyegok. Bukpyeong-myeon is included in the funding arrangement but will not receive a hub facility.
Samsan-myeon is the first to move forward. A three-story, 597-square-meter facility will be built on a park site next to the township office, housing a community lounge, shared kitchen, multipurpose room, fitness room and health management room for residents. Construction is set to begin this month, with completion targeted for August next year.
The county aims to complete administrative procedures — including detailed design work — for the remaining five townships and break ground on all of them before the end of the year. Residents will be consulted throughout the process to ensure the project meets local needs and achieves a high standard of completion.
"We will not stop at simply building facilities — we plan to run resident-led programs and capacity-building initiatives alongside them," a county official said. "We will operate the new hub facilities so that they can become the center of community revitalization and a core hub for each area."
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