![[Courtesy of NongHyup North Gyeongsang]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/09/09/news-p.v1.20260909.fe7046d8a47e4d6780208d7fa49a63e6_P1.jpg)
NongHyup North Gyeongsang held an urban-rural board exchange event on Tuesday at its Namuljin branch, bringing together officials from the Seodaegu and Namuljin branches. The event aimed to strengthen cooperation between urban and rural cooperatives and put the "Nongsim Cheonsim Movement" — a campaign to align farmers' and citizens' hearts — into practice on the ground.
About 50 people attended the event that day, including Kim Ju-won, head of NongHyup North Gyeongsang's headquarters, Hwang Jae-gil, chief of the Namuljin branch, Ryu Yeong-hyo, chief of the Seodaegu branch, and other executives and officials from both cooperatives.
The program included a board meeting held on-site by the Seodaegu branch and a formal introduction between executives of the Seodaegu and Namuljin branches. It also featured a special lecture by the North Gyeongsang headquarters chief on the value of agriculture and rural communities, followed by a luncheon. The day also included a site visit to the Namuljin branch's farming supplies center and farmers' welfare center.
The exchange carries significance as a preemptive step in line with revisions to the Agricultural Cooperatives Act set to take effect in March 2027. It underscores NongHyup's role in promoting urban-rural coexistence and balanced regional development.
NongHyup North Gyeongsang said it plans to move beyond one-off visits or material support and develop the exchange into a field-based urban-rural coexistence model. In this model, executives from urban cooperatives — the decision-makers of their organizations — hold board meetings in rural areas and experience firsthand the realities facing agriculture and rural communities.
Hwang Jae-gil, chief of the Namuljin branch, and Ryu Yeong-hyo, chief of the Seodaegu branch, said in a joint statement, "The ties built through the urban-rural joint project that began in 2024 have now advanced a step further through this urban-rural board exchange." They added, "We will continue working to bring vitality to rural communities and boost tangible benefits for farmers through ongoing urban-rural exchanges."
Kim Ju-won, head of NongHyup North Gyeongsang's headquarters, said, "A key direction of the Nongsim Cheonsim Movement is for urban and rural cooperatives to understand each other's roles and turn that understanding into action." He added, "We will not let this urban-rural board exchange remain a one-time event, but will expand it into a North Gyeongsang-style urban-rural coexistence model in which urban and rural cooperatives grow together."
kbj7653@heraldcorp.com
