Goheung-gun Receives Positive Response for Visiting Return-to-Farming Seminars

Published 28 Jun.2023 12:55(KST)

Support for Returning to Farming and Fishing Villages through Policy Consultation

Goheung-gun, Jeollanam-do announced that since March this year, it has been continuously operating the ‘Visiting Return-to-Farming and Return-to-Village Policy Briefing Sessions,’ which have received great responses from urban residents, and is doing its best to attract ‘return-to-farming and return-to-village population.’

The Visiting Return-to-Farming and Return-to-Village Policy Briefing Sessions are programs designed to inform and assist baby boomer (born 1955?1963) alumni and residents living in large cities, including the metropolitan area, who wish to return to farming or rural living. The sessions introduce various support policies of Goheung-gun and provide counseling to help with return-to-farming and return-to-village.

[Photo by Goheung-gun]

Since the policy briefing sessions began in February this year, they have received great responses from the first session and have now been held 15 times. The county plans to continue strengthening the program to ensure that interest in return-to-farming and return-to-village translates into actual relocation.

In particular, various supports will be provided to help the baby boomer generation, who have left their hometowns to live in cities, successfully plan their second life in Goheung?from preparation for return-to-farming, relocation execution, regional settlement, to community integration.

One alumnus who attended the briefing said, “As retirement approaches, I have been thinking about returning to my hometown. It was difficult to prepare and I didn’t have the courage to proceed just by phone consultations or advice from acquaintances, but through this briefing session, receiving face-to-face counseling gave me confidence and detailed explanations, making me feel that I can return home.”

A county official stated, “Through operating the briefing sessions, we realize that many alumni and urban residents living in cities dream of returning to their hometowns or rural areas,” adding, “To support and encourage their new challenges, we will review the suggestions and proposals made by attendees and discover and strengthen return-to-farming and return-to-village policies that truly resonate with them.”

Meanwhile, Goheung-gun ranked first for two consecutive years in the Jeollanam-do return-to-farming and return-to-village attraction support project and achieved second place last year in the national comprehensive evaluation of return-to-farming and return-to-village. To establish a ‘100,000 population base in 10 years,’ it is implementing various policies that support stable settlement after urban residents move in, including ▲support for start-up and housing purchase funds for returnees to farming and fishing, ▲support for farm house repairs, ▲support for living infrastructure for returnees, ▲support for housewarming events for returnees, and ▲settlement helpers for return-to-farming and return-to-village.