The number of urban households moving to rural areas increased by a whopping 36 times over the past decade to 44,692 last year, according to government data.
This phenomenon is ascribed mainly to a rising flood of retirees who want to seek a second life in the countryside. Returning to farming seems increasingly attractive to many baby boomers — born between 1955 and 1963 — who are reaching retirement age, as a way of making a living in their later years as well as realizing their wish to get away from the bustling urban life.
This is partly related to the dwindling proportion of Koreans living in cities, which fell for the first time in more than half a century to 91.04 percent in 2012.
The rise in the number of city dwellers relocating to rural areas brings many economic benefits by adding jobs in the agricultural and fishing sectors, boosting rural communities and distributing resources more efficiently at the national level. A report by a local research institute suggested that the relocation of an urban resident to a farming village would create overall economic value worth 1.69 million won ($1,459) — including increased productivity and reduction in costs for resolving urban problems such as traffic congestion, sewage and air pollution. Some criminologists even note that the demographic change would lead to reduced crime rates in large cities.
These desirable effects, however, can be assured only when people leaving urban areas successfully adapt to rural life. A simple wish not backed by substantial preparations cannot ensure a stable and satisfactory life in farming villages.
People who want to begin farming in their later years need to be equipped with professional skills and specific plans, without which they might find themselves in quite a severe predicament.
Proper support programs by central and local governments would help increase the possibility of urbanites successfully resettling in rural areas.
In this regard, it was a belated but right move that a law aimed at promoting and supporting urban dwellers’ movement to farming and fishing villages came into force Tuesday. Under the law, the central government is to draw up a comprehensive plan every five years and regional municipalities are required to work out specific programs based on it annually to provide more effective support for migrants from urban areas. Until now, there has not been any substantial coordination between central government ministries and local administrations on how to help urban dwellers settle in rural villages.
It is desirable to hold a survey of all people who have moved from cities to rural areas before mapping out the first comprehensive plan by the end of next year as scheduled.
City dwellers need to be given more opportunities for preliminary stays and intern work in farming and fishing villages so that they may know in advance what their envisioned new life would be like. In the long run, enhancing health care and education facilities will hold the key to inducing more urbanites to settle in rural areas.
