Return-to-Farming Population Up 8.5%... Rural Basic Income Pilot Regions See 37.8% Surge in Return-to-Village Movers

2025 Statistics on Return-to-Farming and Return-to-Village Populations

Despite the overall decline in domestic population mobility, the number of people relocating from cities to rural areas to engage in farming—referred to as the "return-to-farming population"—increased by 8.5% last year. In regions selected for the Rural and Fishing Village Basic Income Pilot Project, the "return-to-village population," consisting of those living in rural areas but working in non-agricultural occupations, rose by more than 37%.

According to the "2025 Statistics on Return-to-Farming and Return-to-Village Populations" jointly released on June 25 by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, and the Ministry of Data and Statistics, the number of return-to-farming households last year reached 8,735, with 11,617 household members. These figures represent increases of 6.0% and 8.5%, respectively, compared to the previous year.

The Asia Business Daily DB

Even amid a decline in domestic population mobility, the number of people returning to farming (household members) reached 11,617, marking an 8.5% increase over the previous year (10,710 in 2024) across all age groups. Notably, there was a significant surge in the number of return-to-farming individuals among those aged 70 and older, as well as among women, both reaching record-high proportions. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs attributed this trend to the mass retirement of the second baby boomer generation (those born between 1964 and 1974, totaling 9.48 million as of 2025) and the mechanization and automation of farming operations.

There has been a rise in both inheritance-based return-to-farming, driven by rural aging, and hybrid return-to-farming, where individuals engage in both agricultural and non-agricultural income activities. The proportion of mixed households increased from 12.9% in 2015 to 33.1% in 2025, while the share of return-to-farming individuals with secondary occupations grew from 22.8% to 32.6% during the same period.

The five regions with the highest numbers of return-to-farming individuals were Goheung-gun in South Jeolla Province (153 people), Shinan-gun in South Jeolla Province and Uiseong-gun in North Gyeongsang Province (138 people each), Sangju-si in North Gyeongsang Province (125 people), and Naju-si in South Jeolla Province (121 people). The most common previous residence was Gyeonggi Province (21.0%), followed by Seoul (14.2%) and Gwangju (8.2%). Return-to-farming individuals from the Seoul metropolitan area (Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi) accounted for 40.5% (3,700 people).

As the number of domestic movers declined by 2.6% compared to 2024, the number of return-to-village households and individuals decreased across all age groups except those aged 60 and above. Nevertheless, the trend of younger people under 30 relocating to rural areas persisted, with those in their 30s making up the largest share of heads of return-to-village households at 23.2%.

The top reason for returning to rural areas was "job opportunities" at 32.1%, followed by housing at 26.1% and family at 25.4%. The reasons varied by age group: for those in their 40s and younger, jobs were the primary reason, while for those in their 50s and older, housing was the top factor.

The five regions with the highest numbers of return-to-village individuals were Hwaseong in Gyeonggi Province (23,790 people), Namyangju-si (14,980 people), Yongin-si (14,623 people), Asan-si in South Chungcheong Province (13,896 people), and Cheongju-si in North Chungcheong Province (13,790 people). In particular, the seven regions selected in October last year for the Rural and Fishing Village Basic Income Pilot Project saw their return-to-village populations increase by an average of 37.8%.

Of the 2.22 million people who moved to rural areas in the past five years, 15,631 (0.7%) started farming anew in 2025. Among those who returned to farming or the village within the last five years, 1,969 return-to-farming individuals (3.4% of the total 59,000) and 184,000 return-to-village individuals (8.3% of the total 2.22 million) were found to have returned to urban areas.

Yoon Wonseup, Director of Agricultural Policy at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, stated, "It is now important not only to encourage urban residents to move into agriculture and rural areas, but also to create conditions that allow return-to-farming and return-to-village populations to remain in rural communities." He added, "To achieve this, we plan to further expand the range of information on rural jobs, vacant homes, and farmland, and provide tailored services through the integrated return-to-farming and return-to-village platform, 'Green Dero.'"

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