Gangdong-gu received the grand prize of『Korea Environmental Awards』for seven consecutive years as it once again received the grand prize this year for ‘urban agriculture’ in the public sector.

The『Korea Environmental Awards』that began in 2006 and celebrated its 12th anniversary this year is one of the major environmental award ceremonies organized by the ‘Korea Environment Awards Committee’ and ‘Ecomedia,’ sponsored by the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.

As it is the most prestigious award in Korea, the awards were given to 21 sectors and 15 government offices and organizations after a thorough and strict evaluation. Gangdong-gu was recognized for its consistent effort in environmental preservation and sustainable social development and received the main prize of『2017 Korea Environmental Awards』.

Gangdong-gu that received the main prize of『Korea Environmental Awards』 for seven years in a row since 2011 has been doing its utmost to create a lifestyle for a sustainable eco city by vitalizing eco-friendly urban agriculture.

The numerous values of urban agriculture including the production of healthy and safe food, communicating and bringing communities together, improving the ecological environment of the city, and building a win-win system for both the city and agricultural sector are also the core reasons why Gangdong-gu places emphasis on urban agriculture. The district enacted「The Ordinance on Vitalizing & Supporting Eco-friendly Urban Agriculture of Gangdong-gu, Seoul」for the first time in Korea to establish a systematic basis for urban agriculture and ‘create a vegetable garden for each household’ by 2020 step by step.

The district is also striving to expand and diversify the areas of urban agriculture and encourage the participation of residents by increasing the awareness of urban agriculture.

The district prepared various urban agricultural education programs including a farm school, resource recycling school, urban apiculture school, gardening shows, a portal where urban farmers can communicate and share each other’s information, a farmer’s market ‘Fresh Dream,’ and ‘Seed Library’ where exhibits are put on display and native seeds are given out to expand the participation of the residents.

A Gangdong-gu official said, “Gangdong-gu will continue to build a happy community with warm-hearted people by playing a leading role in creating an environment-friendly, sustainable, and healthy city.”

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