A Tideland Village That Accomplished Its Long-Cherished Wish

Korea's land area has greatly increased thanks to a continuous west coast reclamation project. The area of Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi Province, which has a reclaimed area of Sihwa and Hwang district, is currently wider than that of Seoul. However, this change was made after the 1990s; before that, most of the coastal towns of Hwaseong City were covered with wide or long mud flats.

Noha 3-ri, Hwangseong-gun, Gwangseong-gun, Paltan-myeon, Gyunggi-Do was one of the coastal towns, which is now surrounded by industrial complexes. The land was salty and small, so farming was difficult for the people. However, within three years of starting Saemaul income business, the village people secured 1 hectare of farmland and 4 hectares for the community farm. How was the long-sought-after business of Noha-ri residents completed in three years?

Hong Sung-jik runs a new motorcycle on a long stretch of road. The motorcycle was a gift to him by the residents in return for making Noha-ri a model village for management income, and also it was a request to continue working for the village.

It was in 1966 that he first attempted to develop Noha-ri. At the young age of 24, he organized a Village Development Committee and formed three associations: for youth, women, and juveniles. There were no restrictions but they had four principles. He thought cultivating a community spirit was the key to the development of the village.

Mr. Hong looked through the creek. He collected some soil from a nearby creek and visited an agricultural guidance office to examine its salinity. It turned out to be 15% - which was farmable if they conducted soil addition* to 40cm below the surface.

*To improve cropland, bring soil of a different nature from elsewhere and mix it into the field.

He immediately returned to the abandoned creek to conduct soil addition and to plant rice. Residents laughed at first. But soon a large amount of rice was produced by the land. The residents were astounded. Seeing the result, the residents fervently participated. Three years later, Noha-ri had greatly changed. Residents who had not owned a single piece of farmland eventually got a hectare of farmland per house, and together they owned a 4-hectare community farmland.

Mr. Hong, who was elected as a Saemaul leader,

attempted to broaden the entrance road of the village. However, residents blocked the road, picking up their pickaxes and shovels, thinking that their property would be taken away from them. Conflicts and divisions arose among the residents. He visited each landowner every day and persuaded them that voluntary cooperation is the true Saemaul spirit.

One day he borrowed a tape on which successful cases of the Saemaul project were recorded and played it at a general meeting. After hearing the achievements of the Saemaul Project with vivid voices from the tape, the landowners, who were ashamed of their own behavior, eventually yielded the land. Afterward, the residents cooperated and accomplished Saemaul projects one by one.

However, in the winter, the residents gradually began to become lazy as it was off-season for rice farmers. They began drinking and gambling. Mr. Hong came up with an idea to raise income during the off-season.