Submission Deadline: November 15 (Sunday) at 24:00 via email; open to the general public and university/graduate students.
Topic: Free subjects related to Taebaek, Samcheok, Yeongwol, and Jeongseon; a total of 8 papers to be selected with 10 million KRW in total prize money.

GANGWON SPECIAL SELF-GOVERNING PROVINCE — Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province (Governor Woo Sang-ho, hereinafter referred to as the "Province") announced that the Coal Mine Region Development Support Center at the Gangwon Institute is currently accepting entries for the "2026 Paper Competition on Coal Industry Transition Regions for Policy Task Discovery" until November 15 at midnight.

This competition aims to raise public awareness regarding the province's coal industry transition regions and to discover innovative policy tasks and ideas essential for regional revitalization and future policy establishment.

The open call covers all fields related to the policies of coal industry transition regions—including society and culture, management and economy, tourism, alternative and future industries, history and cultural heritage, energy, and mineral resource utilization. Submissions must focus on at least one of the following target regions: Taebaek City, Samcheok City, Yeongwol County, or Jeongseon County.

The competition is divided into two categories: the General Public Division and the Student Division.

General Public: Korean citizens aged 20 or older.
Students: Undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in domestic or international universities, including those on leave of absence or course completion status.
Note: Participants can apply individually or in teams of up to four members.

Applicants must submit a research paper (approximately 15 pages in A4 format) along with required application documents via email to the manager (hamtolhi@gi.re.kr). Detailed guidelines and necessary forms can be found on the Coal Mine Comprehensive Information System website (coaltour.com).

Evaluation will take place from November 16 to 30, with winners announced on December 17. A total of 8 papers (4 per category) will be selected. The prize pool totals 10 million KRW, featuring:

Grand Prize (Daesang): 2,000,000 KRW per category
Top Excellence Award (Choiwoo-suseang): 1,500,000 KRW per category
Excellence Award (Woosuseang): 1,000,000 KRW per category
Inquiry Award (Tamgu-sang): 500,000 KRW per category

"We hope this competition will enhance public interest and empathy toward the pending issues and future policies of our coal industry transition regions," said Park Yu-sik, Director-General of the Future Industry Bureau. "Through diverse research and proposals, we expect this to lay a strong policy foundation for regional regeneration and vitalization. We look forward to enthusiastic participation from citizens and students who wish to shape the region's future together."

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