Economic slump causes city dwellers to head for rural communities

SEOUL, May 17 (Yonhap) -- The economic slump is causing a greater number of city
dwellers to head for rural farming communities, a government report said Sunday.
The findings by the farm ministry and the National Statistical Office (NSO)
showed 2,218 city households moving to farming villages last year.
The total is less that 2,384 households that moved to rural areas in 2007, but
higher than the 1,754 and 1,240 households that opted to leave cities in 2006 and
2005, respectively.
The NSO said that the overall total is not as large as the urban exodus the
country witnessed following the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis that left many
people unemployed, but said there has been a steady rise in numbers.
In 1998, when large numbers of people were laid off from work as local companies
moved to streamline operations, there were 6,409 households that relocated out of
urban areas, with numbers reaching 4,118 in the following year before dropping to
769 in 2002.
The increase, in part, is being fueled by government policies designed to get
more young people to become farmers to overcome the critical manpower shortage
that has hurt the competitiveness of the local agriculture sector. Such moves are
aimed at unemployment and helping rural development, vital for balanced national
growth.
By region, North Gyeongsang province reported the largest influx with 699
households settling within its boundaries, followed by North Jeolla, South
Gyeongsang and South Jeolla provinces.
The statistical office, meanwhile, said that the rise in the number of households
heading to rural areas has caused the number of people working at farming sector
jobs to increase after falling steadily since December 2006. Overall numbers have
posted positive growth since November 2008 and have increased steadily through
April of this year.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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