[Opinion] Reconstructing Rural Spaces to Revive the Charm of Nongchon

Sangnam Kim, Director of the National Institute of Agricultural Sciences

The Rural Development Administration studied population change types based on population density and other factors from 2000 to 2020, finding that out of 1,412 rural towns and townships, 1,002 experienced population decline, accounting for 71%. The proportion of households with members aged 65 or older increased from 40.2% in 2020 to 43.1% last year. Along with the population decrease in rural areas, the aging rate has also risen, supporting growing concerns about rural extinction.

However, the same survey showed that rural residents have a high level of satisfaction with the "rural ecological environment and natural scenery," confirming that rural areas have potential as places to live, work, and rest. Cultivating this potential could be the key to solving urban overcrowding and rural extinction.

Currently, rural areas are perceived as hinterlands of cities, and rural characteristics are being damaged due to environmental problems caused by indiscriminate development. To enhance rural growth potential and solve problems faced by rural areas, rural spaces must be redesigned and revitalized.

In fact, while urban planning is familiar to us, "rural planning" is not. Advanced countries such as Germany and Japan establish rural plans distinct from urban plans, based on systematic use and conservation of rural spaces. In Japan, where rural environments are similar, the "Act on the Maintenance of Agricultural Promotion Areas" designates and manages "agricultural areas."

Our government is also promoting a rural agreement system to improve not only the comfort and convenience of rural spaces but also the quality of life for residents. At the end of last August, the "Act on the Restructuring of Rural Spaces and Support for Rural Regeneration" was proposed. The core of this law is to restore rural functions such as housing, production, and environment according to regional conditions and to establish mid- to long-term rural plans.

The Rural Development Administration is making multifaceted efforts to support this and to realize rural areas that people want to live in and visit, rich and full of vitality. In particular, it is focusing on developing rural space regeneration technologies so that rural spaces can fully serve as places to live, work, and rest.

First, for systematic rural space management based on digital technology, it is promoting the construction and standardization of spatial data in the fields of life, environment, society, and culture necessary for rural planning. It also plans to develop standards and indicators for diagnosing basic living services and build a data-driven rural space management system.

Second, it aims to establish standards for the preservation, maintenance, and restoration of rural characteristics and develop spatial maintenance models to establish various functions and roles of rural spaces. It plans to designate rural specialized districts and develop techniques to partition living zones to support the implementation of rural space policies.

Finally, through research and development and field demonstrations, it will create a future vision of rural spaces by efficiently utilizing idle spaces for population inflow, exchange, and settlement, and by assisting the transition to digitally equipped rural areas that are energy self-sufficient and resource-circulating.

We hope these efforts will be the first step in responding to rural area extinction and transforming rural areas into attractive spaces that people cannot help but love. / Kim Sangnam, Director of the National Institute of Agricultural Sciences

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.