[June 10th KOREA WAVE]

Public relations activities for hometown love donations = Provided by Jeollanam-do (c)news1

“I travel hundreds of kilometers all over the country, not only on weekdays, but also on weekends.”

This is a complaint made by civil servants in Jeollanam Province who are in charge of the hometown love donation system (Korean version of hometown tax). This is the second year of the hometown love donation system, but donations have slowed down due to the economic downturn, and public servants are working tirelessly on weekends to visit events all over South Korea and carry out public relations activities.

According to Jeollanam Province and other organizations, last year, the first year the system went into effect, Jeollanam Province and 22 cities and counties received 14.3 billion won (1 won = approximately 0.11 yen) in donations. This year, the goal is to donate 20 billion won.

However, due to the recent economic downturn, collecting donations is not easy.

Civil servants from Jeollanam Province and cities and counties are enthusiastic about fundraising efforts, visiting events held hundreds of kilometers away to revitalize the hometown love donation system.

In fact, in the case of Jeollanam-do, they not only travel to various parts of the province, but also to Seoul, Sejong, Busan, Incheon, Changwon, Daegu, and Jeju to spread the word about Jeollanam-do’s hometown love donation system.

Currently, employees from Jeollanam Province are traveling around the country, even on weekends. Looking at the schedule up to June, 50 trains run within the Jeollanam-do area, and more than 60 run outside the Jeollanam-do area. Including overtime work, the total amount reaches 300 hours.

Other local governments are also implementing similar PR campaigns.

In the case of Damyang County, South Jeolla Province, which ranked first as a basic municipality for the love-of-hometown donation system last year, the number of high-value donors has decreased, and donations have remained at 70-80% compared to the same period last year. However, with the number of individual participants increasing, it is expected that the target amount will be achieved by the end of the year.

An official from Jeollanam Province said, “We will do our best not only to revitalize the hometown love donation system, but also to find return gifts and fund projects.”

(c)news1/KOREA WAVE/AFPBB News