Episode 4: Village Development Fund
While researching about returning to farming, I had heard that quite a few places demanded a Village Development Fund from outsiders returning to farming or rural life.
I heard that disputes arose over the unexpectedly excessive demands, and that some people gave up on farming and went back because of this, but I hadn't known our village did this too.
"I've heard of it before."
"It's fine if you're just staying for a few days, but if you're planning to settle down and farm, I think you'll need to pay the Village Development Fund."
"I see. How much do I need to pay?"
"Two million won."
Two million won.
It wasn't such a large amount. No, if this were the past, I would have thought it was a lot. It was about two-thirds of my monthly salary.
But now was different. Because I was a lottery winner.
Even if I transferred that money from my current account, it wouldn't make a dent.
After hearing the amount, I was about to tell the Village Chief that I understood, but suddenly a thought occurred to me.
"But do only people returning to farming pay the Village Development Fund?"
If it was money collected for the village's development, gathering it only from those returning to farming seemed somewhat unfair.
"No, all the existing villagers paid it too."
Before my father passed away, he had been a resident of the village.
If everyone in the village paid it, my father would have paid it too.
Given my father's personality as I knew him, I didn't think he would have refused to pay such money, but I felt a bit doubtful.
"Did my father perhaps not pay it?"
"Donghui paid the Village Development Fund too."
As expected, my father had paid the Village Development Fund.
But hearing this made me feel something was strange. It was the same house anyway, and if my father paid the money, it didn't make sense that I had to pay too.
I asked the Village Chief about this.
"My father paid the money, so do I have to pay too?"
"Originally it wasn't like that, but as more return-to-farmers came in after people passed away, the village rules changed."
"How did they change?"
"In the past, if you knew an original villager, they'd let it slide, but now they've decided to unconditionally collect two million won from anyone who moves in. Everyone makes excuses and asks for exceptions, but it's unfair to collect from some and not others. All the villagers agreed and decided on this, so I'd appreciate it if you understood and followed along."
As I kept asking, he spoke as if slightly annoyed.
Since he said all the residents had agreed, I didn't have much to say, but honestly, I didn't like it.
"I see. But what happens if I don't pay the Village Development Fund?"
"Why? Aren't you going to pay?"
When I asked as if I wouldn't pay, he glared at me.
Two million won wasn't a large sum to me, a lottery winner.
But depending on the person, some might think it unfair and refuse to pay, and I was curious what happened in such cases.
"I was just wondering what happens if someone doesn't pay."
"Sure, there might be people like that. But think of the Village Development Fund as essentially the cost for using the water supply."
"Water usage fee?"
"You know our village uses groundwater, right?"
"Yes, I know."
Rural areas lack a lot of infrastructure like roads, gas, and water supply.
Especially for water, since they can't pipe in municipal water like in the city, villages often develop groundwater directly for communal use by residents.
"Back when they first dug for groundwater, the villagers pooled money to dig tube wells and build water tanks. But it'd be unfair if outsiders just came in and used the water freely. That's why they decided to collect the Village Development Fund."
"Ah, I see."
"You can think of the fund covering the costs of cleaning the water tank and repairing the motors when they break."
"Then people who don't pay the Village Development Fund can't use the village communal groundwater?"
"Exactly. You catch on quick, being young. If you don't pay the fund, you have to dig your own tube well to develop groundwater, and that costs more than a pretty penny. These days, I hear you have to pay companies at least ten million won."
Ten million won.
It would be an enormous burden for people who had just returned to farming.
Even if they managed to dig a well, if it broke, they'd have to repair it themselves, so considering maintenance fees, it would cost even more.
Come to think of it from that perspective, paying the Village Development Fund and using the water didn't seem so bad either.
"I understand what you mean."
"Right, like I said earlier, it's a village rule, so I'd appreciate your understanding and cooperation. Contact me when you're ready."
"Yes, I understand."
Hearing my answer, the Village Chief got back in his truck and left our house.
'Village Development Fund, huh...'
If someone who had just planned to return to farming heard they had to pay money just to use water, they would be very bewildered.
Because this was unimaginable in the city.
"Well, in the city, you pay water bills."
In the city, you pay water taxes and use water.
But in the countryside where you dig for groundwater, there's no need to pay water taxes.
In the long run, thinking of the Village Development Fund as a water tax and paying to use it didn't seem so bad either.
What was bad was the feeling.
It wasn't double taxation, but paying the Village Development Fund twice from one household didn't sit well with me. Still, since it was a rule set by the village, if I wanted to use water, I had no choice but to comply.
The Village Chief seemed to take it for granted that I would pay, and I felt that if I didn't, our relationship might become a bit awkward.
***
"Is the organizing more or less done at this point?"
I hadn't thought I had that much stuff, but perhaps because I was organizing my father's belongings from before and then my own, it took longer than expected to sort everything out.
Maybe because I had been lifting and carrying heavy things, beads of sweat dotted my forehead. I wiped the sweat from my brow with a towel.
"It's going to be terribly hot in the summer, isn't it?"
It was mid-March. Spring.
The temperature rose a bit at midday, but there was still a cool breeze blowing; yet inside the house, perhaps because the wind didn't circulate, it felt a bit hot.
Well, looking back on old memories, I recall it being extremely hot.
I used to sleep with my father relying on just one electric fan; thinking about it now, I don't know how we lived through the summer.
'Well, back then I slept a lot on the wooden porch.'
I had seen Seoulites bring mats to the Han River in summer to sleep through the night.
Similarly, my father and I used to lay out blankets on the wooden porch to sleep in summer, hanging mosquito nets and burning mosquito coils to block the swarming mosquitoes.
There were some persistent ones that got through the net, but compared to the room, we could sleep coolly.
When I was in the city, I lived in a fully-equipped two-room apartment with household appliances. The electricity bill wasn't that expensive, so I could turn on the air conditioner whenever I wanted.
Since I mostly worked in an office, I didn't worry much about the summer heat. But seeing myself sweating like this already, I was a bit worried about the approaching summer.
"I'll install an air conditioner before summer comes."
But thinking about it, there was no need to worry too much.
If it's hot, I'll just install an air conditioner to cool down. It would cost some money, but I couldn't live turning on an electric fan like in the old days.
But that was for later; for now, I needed to wash away the heat with a shower.
Taking the towel with me to the bathroom, I turned on the shower.
A stream of cool water poured from the showerhead, and I put my head under it.
"Ugh..."
A cry escaped me unconsciously at the cold water. Perhaps because it was water drawn from underground, it was certainly cool.
If I turned on the boiler, hot water would come out, but this refreshing feeling wasn't bad right now.
It felt like the dust from organizing was being washed from head to toe, and I felt happy.
After wetting my body like that, just as I was about to shampoo my hair, I felt the water stream that had been running coolly suddenly weaken.
"Huh? What's wrong with this?"
After a little more time passed, water began to trickle from the showerhead, and I was bewildered as I had been about to shampoo.
I quickly washed my hands with the trickling water and went outside to try the sink.
But just like in the bathroom, the water trickled out without flowing properly.
I was puzzled that the water which had been flowing fine suddenly stopped, and then I thought of the Village Chief.
"Surely he didn't cut off my water to make me pay the Village Development Fund?"
I had heard that rural folks were heartless these days, but he had come and gone just this afternoon, so I didn't think he would have cut the water already.
Still, just in case, I picked up my phone and called the Village Chief.
"Hello."
"Yes, Village Chief. This is Lee Minwoo, living up in the village."
"Ohhh, are you calling to pay the development fund? Want me to send you the account number?"
"Ah, no, the thing is water suddenly stopped coming out, so I was wondering if there's a problem with the water supply?"
"The water?"
"Yes, it was flowing fine earlier, but suddenly stopped."
I explained what was happening at our house to the Village Chief, and hearing my words, he spoke as if he understood.
"Ah, that's probably because there isn't much water in the communal water tank."
"There's no water?"
"It hasn't rained much lately, so there's a drought. The groundwater seems to have decreased a lot too. Besides, your place is uphill from the village, so we have to pump it up with a motor; there needs to be enough water pushing from behind for it to reach that far."
"I see."
"We're actually planning to dig another well to increase the groundwater amount. We're filling the water tank right now, so if you wait a bit, the water should flow again."
"Yes, does this happen often?"
"Well, I don't live there so I'm not sure, but if it doesn't rain and it's dry, or if water usage in the village increases... Rural life isn't as conveniently precise as city life, so you have to bear with these things."
"Yes, I understand."
After hanging up with the Village Chief, I fell into thought.
At first, since cool water flowed out well, I had thought that even if it felt a bit unfair to pay the Village Development Fund for water that had no water tax, it would be fine.
But if water shortages happened often, I began to think it might be better to dig my own well for my own use rather than paying to use the village groundwater.
'Digging my own water?'
If I dug for water, since I'd be the only one using it, I wouldn't have to worry about shortages.
The Village Chief had said it cost about ten million won to dig for groundwater, which was an amount I could easily afford.
I hadn't liked the idea of paying the Village Development Fund twice anyway.
But hearing that water was also scarce, my heart began to lean toward digging my own well.
'If I dig my own groundwater, I won't have to pay the Village Development Fund to use water.'
If I was going to live here farming, water was an absolutely essential resource. If water was scarce, there would be many stressful situations.
Laundry, cleaning, and even cooking—right now, wasn't I unable to even shower?
I had come down to the countryside to reduce stress, but I might end up stressed because of water.
Thump, thump.
Was it because I was anxious? I suddenly felt my heart racing.
It was an early symptom of anxiety.
If my heart raced like this, later my chest would feel tight to the point where I couldn't breathe, so I quickly took the medicine the doctor had prescribed.
After taking the medicine and waiting, I felt my heart's pounding subside. Lying down for a moment to calm my mind, I decided to just do whatever made me comfortable.
Because right now, that was the most important thing.