Return to Farming and Rural Areas Again Led by Gyeongbuk... 2,530 Households Last Year, Four of Top 5 Cities and Counties Also in Gyeongbuk

Gyeongbuk Province, 20.4% Nationwide Share, Largest Gap from 2nd Place Ever

"High Agricultural Income and Many Leading Farms Create Positive Cycle for Returning Farmers"

Which region in South Korea saw the highest number of returnees to farming last year? Gyeongbuk Province maintained its top position among metropolitan local governments.

On the 27th, Gyeongbuk Province announced that according to the ‘2022 Return-to-Farming and Return-to-Village Statistical Survey’ released by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and Statistics Korea on the 22nd, 2,530 households (3,317 people) returned to farming last year (a decrease of 180 households from the previous year), accounting for 20.4% of the nationwide total of 12,411 households (16,906 people), securing first place nationwide and establishing itself as the optimal place for returning to farming.

By city and province nationwide, Gyeongbuk had the highest number of return-to-farming households with 2,530. Next were Jeonnam with 1,966 households and Chungnam with 1,562 households, with a gap of 564 households from second place, marking the largest margin ever recorded.

By city and county within Gyeongbuk, the number of returnees to farming was 213 in Uiseong (ranked 1st nationwide), 212 in Sangju (2nd), 193 in Gimcheon (3rd), and 180 in Yeongcheon (5th), with four of the top five cities/counties nationwide in terms of returnee numbers located in Gyeongbuk.

Number of Returning Farming Households by Region Last Year.

According to data released by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the number of domestic population movers last year hit the lowest point in 48 years, and housing transactions decreased by 49.9%, leading to an overall decline in the population returning to farming and rural areas nationwide.

Despite the nationwide decrease in return-to-farming and return-to-village populations, Gyeongbuk recorded a much lower decrease rate (6.6%) compared to the national average decrease rate of return-to-farming households (13.5%), showing a steady annual inflow of about 3,000 people per township-level area.

The reason Gyeongbuk has more return-to-farming households than other provinces is attributed to its agriculture being developed around profitable high-income crops such as fruit trees, facility vegetables, and livestock, resulting in high agricultural income (15,078,000 KRW, ranked 2nd nationwide) and a large number of leading farms to provide support (170,000 households, ranked 1st nationwide), sustaining a virtuous cycle of return-to-farming.

Additionally, policy fund support and educational program operation, promotion of urban resident attraction through participation in large-scale fairs, provision of customized information centered on demand, and active support from Gyeongbuk Province and its cities/counties to induce successful settlement are believed to have produced these results.

Starting this year, Gyeongbuk Province plans to further accelerate efforts to achieve high-quality outcomes in the return-to-farming and return-to-village sectors by reorganizing and rebuilding the support system, strengthening promotional activities to attract urban residents, expanding settlement support projects for returnees, and fostering a harmonious atmosphere through communication between returnees and local residents.

Kim Ju-ryeong, Director of the Agriculture, Livestock and Distribution Bureau of Gyeongbuk Province, said, “We plan to carefully analyze the results of this return-to-farming and return-to-village statistical survey and supplement necessary policies,” adding, “We will systematically prepare various support policies for returnees and young farmers, as well as demand-centered education, and do our best to attract returnees to farming and rural areas.”

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