[Report] Picking Flowers and Forest Meditation... 'Healing Agriculture' is Rising

Jeonbuk Wanju-gun 'Dreamtteul Healing Farm'
Effective Emotional Support for Elderly, Disabled, and Inmates Increased

"As a result of examining the pre- and post-changes of the elderly who participated in the healing agriculture program at the healing farm, the degree of subjective memory decline decreased by 30.2%, and depression decreased by 17.7%. Since healing agriculture is a key project of the Rural Development Administration, we plan to organically link it with the government's ongoing social service advancement policy." (Jang Jeong-hee, Head of the Healing Agriculture Promotion Team, Rural Development Administration)

On the afternoon of the 9th, we visited the 'Dreamtteul Healing Farm' located in Soyang-myeon, Wanju-gun, Jeonbuk. This 3,000-pyeong farm, which operates the Rural Development Administration's key project 'Healing Agriculture' program, includes a flower garden, an animal farm where mountain goats live, and a caf?. Healing agriculture is an industry that utilizes agricultural and rural resources to promote the recovery and maintenance of the public's health while creating social and economic added value. The reason it is currently regarded as a key project of the Rural Development Administration is its connection with the 'social services' emphasized by the current government.

Children visiting Dreamtteul Healing Farm are experiencing therapeutic agriculture. Photo by Rural Development Administration

The Dreamtteul Healing Farm visited that day operated a total of 148 special-purpose healing agriculture programs linked with social services last year to support the emotional needs of the elderly, children, adolescents, and people with mental disabilities. Song Mina, co-representative of Dreamtteul Healing Farm, is a 'healing expert' qualified as a horticultural therapist, vocational rehabilitation specialist, and social worker. Her farm, which was the first in Wanju-gun to integrate healing agriculture, has been selected as a career and vocational experience partner institution by the Jeonju Office of Education and as a designated experience site by the Wanju Office of Education. Representative Song explained, "We operate programs in connection with local dementia relief centers, day care centers, and children's centers, and many general visitors come after seeing us on social media."

All the flowers on the farm are 'resources' for the psychological, social, and physical health recovery of users. While it is forbidden to pick even a single flower carelessly in the mountains or fields, here visitors are even given scissors and encouraged to freely collect flowers. Visitors can collect various flowers blooming throughout the farm, including eucalyptus, herbs, wildflowers, and daisies. When they bring the flowers they want, they complete a flower basket by placing each flower into floral foam provided by the farm. Placing each flower one by one allows them to feel mental stability and happiness.

Dreamtteul Healing Farm, located in the mountains, makes full use of the surrounding nature. Following Song Eun-hye, co-representative and psychological therapy expert, we walked the 'forest healing trail' and came across a pavilion where several people can sit and meditate. Co-representative Song Eun-hye explained, "Participants sit here to meditate while breathing fresh air and listen to the sounds of nature to organize their minds."

Healing agriculture facilities like Dreamtteul Healing Farm increased by more than 100 last year alone. The number of farm-type, village-type, and institution-type healing agriculture facilities, which totaled 234 from 2017 to 2021, increased to 353 last year, becoming a key project of the Rural Development Administration. Until last year, the Rural Development Administration developed 34 types of healing agriculture programs, including horticultural therapy programs for inmates scheduled for social reintegration and insect healing programs for the elderly. The number of participants also increased from a cumulative 1,408 in 2020 to 84,000 last year.

Outdoor view of Dreamtteul Healing Farm visited on the afternoon of the 9th. Photo by Joint Press Corps

Behind this is the 'service-oriented welfare' emphasized by the Yoon Seok-yeol administration. Since the transition team period, this government has focused on service-oriented welfare rather than cash welfare. The aim is to promote welfare that provides services rather than benevolent cash payments, while also creating added value. To achieve this goal, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced in March that it would establish a policy fund worth 14 billion KRW for the first time in the social service sector.

Healing agriculture is also gaining attention with a similar purpose. The government established a comprehensive five-year plan for healing agriculture for the first time last year. This year, pilot projects linked with the Ministry of Education's Wee Project, the Ministry of Health and Welfare's mental health promotion projects, home care benefits, and day activity support for people with developmental disabilities are underway. The Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to expand four types of social services?customized elderly care, dementia management, day care for people with developmental disabilities, and home care benefits?as pilot projects in local governments.

An official from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said, "We expect to improve participant satisfaction through organic policy linkage between healing agriculture and social services and to create a sustainable farm income structure using social service budgets."

Currently, a revision bill for the Healing Agriculture Act aimed at the development and revitalization of healing agriculture has also been proposed in the National Assembly. The amendment bill, proposed last December by So Byung-hoon, chairman of the Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee, which includes the introduction of an excellent healing agriculture facility certification system, is scheduled to be submitted to the Legislation and Judiciary Committee this month. Another amendment bill, which includes institutional measures for linking social welfare projects, was submitted to the relevant standing committee in April.

An official from the Rural Development Administration said, "We are establishing healing farms nationwide to expand healing agriculture programs and increase participants. In the future, we plan to conduct program effectiveness verification, create program manuals, and propose related policy linkage models in connection with welfare institutions."

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