According to the Jeju Self-Governing Provincial Office, the number of individuals starting up farms in Jeju in the past five years was 5,711 in 3,108 households. (image: Republic of Korea/flickr)
SEOUL, Feb. 9 (Korea Bizwire) – The number of individuals returning to Jeju to take up farming is skyrocketing due to a lack of jobs in urban areas, the retirement of baby boomers, and other social factors, including people’s longing for pastoral lives.
According to the Jeju Self-Governing Provincial Office, the number of individuals starting up farms in Jeju in the past five years was 5,711 in 3,108 households. By year, the number increased from 245 in 97 households in 2010 to 3,522 in 2,165 households in 2014. The number of households has increased by 32 times in five years.
By region, Jeju city attracted 690 new farmers from urban areas, while Seogwipo city gained 2,832 farmers in 2014.
The provincial government concluded that factors such as a lack of jobs in urban areas due to the sluggish economy, the retirement of baby boomers, and people’s yearning for rural lives have enticed people come to Jeju’s clean environment to give farming a go.
The Jeju government is offering a variety of services to help individuals settle into their new rural lives, by providing farming information and supplying financial benefits for their farming. It offers up to 300 million won loans with less than 3 percent interest.
Other benefits for the return-to-farm population include subsidies for purchasing small-sized farming machinery, school expenses for high school students, safety accident insurance, health insurance, pension insurance and so on.
An official at the provincial government said, “Their return to the farm movement can revitalize the farming industry in Jeju with various experience and skill and new ideas. We will help them to settle down as residents by running a talent sharing program.”
By John Choi (johnchoi@koreabizwire.com)
