The good life is not always simple
Urbanites in Korea face farming challenges
Kim Young-gil who started farming 13 years ago (far left) and his mother and wife
- Francesca Shin, Seoul
- Korea
- July 6, 2012
Swapping the hectic rush of the city for life on an organic farm is a dream pursued by many South Koreans. Government figures show that more than 23,000 people moved out of towns and into farming villages in 2011, an increase of 158 percent on the year before.
But farmers warn that switching to the simple life is not necessarily simple itself. “More and more city people are getting interested in farming but they must be adequately prepared,” says John Kim Young-gil, who has lived off the land for the past 13 years.
Kim, a Catholic, lives in a village at the foot of Jirisan mountain in Namwon with six other Catholic families, all of them committed to organic principles.
His fellow farmers agree that preparation is vital. “People who want to do it should visit a farming area several times and experience it, before they decide to quit their city life,” one of them suggests.
Others point out that aspiring smallholders should be ready to live on an income much lower than the national average. “I earn around 800,000 won (US$700) a month from my crops,” says one of them. “It’s such a small income, it makes me want to avoid social occasions.”
Augustine Maeng Joo-hyung is the education director for an organization called Woori-nong Saligi – Save Our Farmland – run by Seoul archdiocese. “People who are born and bred in cities think it’s an adventure and they enter straight into farming without getting enough information,” he says.
“There is a strong possibility that these ‘returned farmers’ will fail to settle into it, either physically, economically or emotionally. They have less choices for their children's education and less of a social life.”
In response to the problem, a number of initiatives have been launched to help people acclimatize to rural existence.
CCFM, a coalition of Catholic farmers, was originally launched to campaign for farmers’ political and economic rights. But it switched its focus to promoting organic methods in the 1990s. Since then, it has been enabling city-dwelling Catholics to experience organic farming and equipping them with the know-how to take it up eventually as a full time occupation.
Several Catholic dioceses including Seoul, Gwangju and Masan, also offer farming orientation programs for city people, with another due to start in Uijeongbu this month. And a Buddhist temple near Kim’s village in Namwon provides education for putative farmers, with several Catholic priests among its tutors.
But as well as preparation, Kim also stresses the need for commitment. “It’s almost impossible to continue organic farming if you don’t have the conviction that it saves life,” he says.
Related reports
Asian churches promote organic farming
But farmers warn that switching to the simple life is not necessarily simple itself. “More and more city people are getting interested in farming but they must be adequately prepared,” says John Kim Young-gil, who has lived off the land for the past 13 years.
Kim, a Catholic, lives in a village at the foot of Jirisan mountain in Namwon with six other Catholic families, all of them committed to organic principles.
His fellow farmers agree that preparation is vital. “People who want to do it should visit a farming area several times and experience it, before they decide to quit their city life,” one of them suggests.
Others point out that aspiring smallholders should be ready to live on an income much lower than the national average. “I earn around 800,000 won (US$700) a month from my crops,” says one of them. “It’s such a small income, it makes me want to avoid social occasions.”
Augustine Maeng Joo-hyung is the education director for an organization called Woori-nong Saligi – Save Our Farmland – run by Seoul archdiocese. “People who are born and bred in cities think it’s an adventure and they enter straight into farming without getting enough information,” he says.
“There is a strong possibility that these ‘returned farmers’ will fail to settle into it, either physically, economically or emotionally. They have less choices for their children's education and less of a social life.”
In response to the problem, a number of initiatives have been launched to help people acclimatize to rural existence.
CCFM, a coalition of Catholic farmers, was originally launched to campaign for farmers’ political and economic rights. But it switched its focus to promoting organic methods in the 1990s. Since then, it has been enabling city-dwelling Catholics to experience organic farming and equipping them with the know-how to take it up eventually as a full time occupation.
Several Catholic dioceses including Seoul, Gwangju and Masan, also offer farming orientation programs for city people, with another due to start in Uijeongbu this month. And a Buddhist temple near Kim’s village in Namwon provides education for putative farmers, with several Catholic priests among its tutors.
But as well as preparation, Kim also stresses the need for commitment. “It’s almost impossible to continue organic farming if you don’t have the conviction that it saves life,” he says.
Related reports
Asian churches promote organic farming
