Goyang City in Gyeonggi Province has launched a "Goyang-style healing agriculture" initiative connecting government, businesses, and medical institutions to improve residents' quality of life. The program goes beyond simple farming experiences by combining scientific validation with public-private cooperation to set a new standard for healing agriculture.
According to Goyang City on Wednesday, the city laid the policy groundwork by enacting the "Goyang City Ordinance on the Promotion and Support of Healing Agriculture" in October 2021. The ordinance was revised in November 2024 to reflect field demand, and in September of the same year, the city established a "Healing Agriculture Room" equipped with brainwave and stress measurement devices, funded by donations from eight local agricultural cooperatives. A 3,115-square-meter field demonstration plot also operates a citizen-participation garden program.
These achievements have earned external recognition. The city won the top prize in the inequality reduction category at the "2025 National Local Government Heads Manifesto Best Practice Competition" hosted by the Korea Manifesto Center, as well as the top institution award in the rural resources category from Gyeonggi Province.
The effects of healing agriculture have also been scientifically verified. In a joint study with Korea University's Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation, the National Center for Mental Health, the National Cancer Center, the National Health Insurance Service Ilsan Hospital, and Korea University Anam Hospital participated in building a hospital-based healing agriculture model. In a program for cancer survivors, depression and cognitive stress indices decreased to a statistically significant degree, and program satisfaction scored above 4.5 out of 5.
The policy is also expanding to future generations. Six schools, including Byeokje Elementary School and Sangtan Elementary School, are operating school healing gardens, while the "Gyeonggi Province Dream-Growing Healing Garden" for special education schools has established itself as a specialized model linked to career and vocational education.
"Recosoil," a resource-circulating soil developed and donated by POSCO E&C, is at the core of the project. Made by recycling waste resources such as coffee grounds and paper pulp, the planting soil has been provided free of charge through an agreement that the city extended to 2026, with 110 tons supplied this year. The city has distributed it to about 100 locations, including 71 daycare centers and welfare facilities, to support the creation of healing gardens at each institution.
"Healing agriculture is a welfare policy that goes beyond simple farming experiences to care for residents' mental well-being and restore community," a Goyang City official said. "We will build a healing city that all generations can experience firsthand."
