To those who dream of returning to rural villages for farming

Late last month, I left the rural village where I live and went on a short two-day trip to Seoul in a long time.

The destination was the SETEC in Gangnam, Seoul, where an exposition on returning to rural villages and doing farming was taking place. The expo venue was crowded with people who wanted to have consultations on rural life, reflecting the recent popularity of back-to-farm trend.

However, as a person who has been living in a rural village for four years, I found the atmosphere somewhat disappointing. The exposition seemed too light to provide satisfactory content for those who prepare for the second chapter of their life, mostly baby boomers who were born between 1955 and 1963. No sufficient information, effort or passion was found there. With a grain of salt, it can be said they are just soliciting urban people to make their “back-to-farm show” organized by central and local governments successful.

Going back to rural villages is not a fantasy but reality, not to mention making ends meet through farming. The number of households moving to rural villages for farming started to sharply increase in 2009, recording 4,080 households. In both 2011 and 2012, the number exceeded the 10,000 bar with 10,503 and 11,220, respectively. Compared to 2,218 households in 2008, the increases are remarkable. However, these government statistics are exaggerated because they include “half farmers” as well. Under the current law, to go to a rural village and do farming, people need to obtain the status of "agricultural workers" (a legal term for farmers), which only requires the possession of 1,000 m² farmland.

As a result, 70.4 percent of people who went to rural villages for farming had less than 5,000 square meters of cultivation area last year. In addition, the farming base is very weak because leased land takes up 43.5 percent. Among the households that chose to go to rural villages for farming last year, 57 percent were one-member household who went there by themselves due to the disapproval of spouses or other practical reasons. Many of these people are likely to choose agricultural businesses other than farming or just return to cities.

Although people preparing to go to rural villages for farming want to rely on various support measures such as loans and subsidies provided by the central and local governments, it is not easy. All the loans (annual interest of 3 percent) with regard to startup funds necessary to build or purchase a house and purchase land and build facilities require collaterals. Even if qualified for taking loans, not everyone can lend as much as the limit of 200 million won (187,882 U.S. dollars). Subsidies are also different from what people usually think. For instance, one county in Gangwon Province provides 50 percent subsides for the greenhouse construction of 165 square meters. However, the base rate adopted by the county office is 3.25 million won (3,053 dollars), much lower than what actually costs for the construction. Because the actual cost is 4.6 million won (4,321 dollars), the actual proportion of subsidies gets much lower than 50 percent.

Even if people get the benefits of low-interest loans and subsidies on top of their own funds, it would be better to give up the dream of becoming a rich farmer earning hundreds of millions of won a year. Last year, the number of agricultural workers with over 100 million won (93,940 dollars) income reached 16,401, which takes up a meager 1.4 percent of the total agricultural households. Combined with distorted statistics, the fever of going to rural villages gives people an illusion. In reality, it is very difficult to make money from farming.

Then, should people give up going to rural villages for farming?

Despite the harsh reality, there is a way to go if the goal is “happy life with farming,” not “successful life with farming.” This should be your destination when you truly want to experience the life-changing pleasure by taking an untraveled road. The destination can be reached only when you put down all the urban values such as money, fame and convenience and pursue the true happiness of yourself and your family based on unselfishness, rest and slowness.