"People Are Returning to Jeonnam's Rural Areas"... No. 1 in the Country for New Farming and Fishing Households

Honam Regional Data Office Report: Farming, Fishing, and Rural Migration All Rise Together
High Influx From Other Provinces Fuels Farming Migration
Goheung County Tops List for New Farmers

Last year, the population moving to farming, fishing, and rural communities in Jeonnam all increased. The number of farming households climbed from second to first nationwide, while fishing households maintained the top spot in the country for the second year in a row. In contrast to the nationwide decrease, the number of rural in-migrants in Jeonnam rose by 7.5%.

In particular, 81.7% of new farmers and 63.3% of new rural residents in Jeonnam relocated from other provinces, indicating that a high proportion of Jeonnam’s rural in-migration comes from outside the region. However, the number of people and households moving to mountain villages declined, showing a different trend from the increases in farming, fishing, and rural migration.

According to the “2025 Status of Return-to-Farm, Return-to-Fishing, and Return-to-Rural Residents in Jeonbuk, Jeonnam, and Jeju” analyzed by the Honam Regional Data Office, the number of new farming households in Jeonnam reached 1,633 last year, an increase of 117 households or 7.7% from 1,516 the previous year.

A panoramic view of a rice paddy field in Yeonggwang-gun, Gwangju Metropolitan City, Jeollanam-do. Provided by Yeonggwang-gun

Among the 8,735 new farming households nationwide, Jeonnam accounted for 18.7%, rising from second nationwide in 2024 to first last year.

The number of new farmers reached 1,681, a 9.3% increase from the previous year. Across the Jeonbuk, Jeonnam, and Jeju regions, the total number of new farmers rose by 9.8%, with increases in all three areas: Jeonnam, Jeonbuk at 11.8%, and Jeju at 2.1%.

A key characteristic of the farming population in Jeonnam is the high proportion of people coming from other provinces.

Last year, 81.7% of new farmers in Jeonnam moved across regional boundaries, which is 13.0 percentage points higher than the national average of 68.7%. In contrast, only 18.3% moved within Jeonnam.

Looking at the previous place of residence before starting farming, Gwangju accounted for the largest share at 39.1%, followed by Jeonnam at 18.3% and Gyeonggi at 14.6%. The proportion of those relocating from the Seoul Metropolitan Area (Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi) to Jeonnam was 31.4%.

By city and county, Jeonnam’s strength was particularly pronounced.

Among all cities and counties of Jeonbuk, Jeonnam, and Jeju, Goheung County in Jeonnam saw the highest number of new farmers last year, with 153 people. Next were Sinan County with 138, Naju with 121, and Muan County with 110, followed by Gimje City and Gochang County in Jeonbuk, each with 109.

Goheung County rose from second place in 2024 to first last year, and Goheung and Naju have both ranked among the top five destinations for new farmers for two consecutive years.

Return-to-farm migration in Jeonnam was primarily composed of single-person households and people in their 50s and 60s. The proportion of single-person new farming households in Jeonnam was 80.9%, higher than the national average of 77.8%, while two-person households accounted for 14.1%. By age group, those in their 60s made up the largest share at 35.9%, and the average age was 55.2, which is 0.6 years younger than the national average of 55.8.

The number of new farmers who pursue non-agricultural economic activities alongside farming also increased significantly.

Last year, among Jeonnam’s new farmers, there were 1,108 full-time farmers and 573 part-time farmers. While the number of full-time farmers increased by 5.0% from the previous year, the number of part-time farmers jumped by 18.6%.

As a result, the proportion of full-time farming households fell by 2.7 percentage points to 65.9% from the previous year.

Among cultivated crops, vegetables accounted for the highest share. By crop, 40.1% of farming households in Jeonnam grew vegetables. The average cultivation area per crop was largest for rice paddies, at 3,618 square meters.

Migration to the fishing industry also showed a significant increase.

Last year, there were 232 new fishing households in Jeonnam, a 19.6% rise from 194 the previous year. Of the 586 new fishing households nationwide, Jeonnam accounted for 39.6%, maintaining its first-place status from 2024. The number of new fishers also grew from 203 in 2024 to 242 last year, an increase of 19.2%. Of these, those who crossed regional borders to move to Jeonnam made up 61.2%.

Looking at the proportion of full-time fishers among new fishers, Jeonnam stood at 60.7%, slightly below the national average of 64.2%. While the number of full-time fishers increased by 5.0% from the previous year, the number of part-time fishers soared by 50.8%.

Return-to-rural migration also switched to an upward trend. The number of people moving to rural areas in Jeonnam declined from 42,611 in 2021 to 37,543 in 2022, 34,861 in 2023, and 33,660 in 2024, but increased to 36,193 last year.

The year-on-year growth rate was 7.5%. Jeonbuk saw a 1.7% increase, while Jeju recorded a 5.9% decrease.

The number of rural households also increased last year, reaching 29,681, up 7.4% from the previous year. Jeonnam accounted for 9.4% of all rural households nationwide, ranking fifth. The share of newcomers to Jeonnam’s rural areas from other provinces was also high: 63.3% last year. This is 13.0 percentage points above the national average of 50.3% for inter-provincial rural migration. The leading reason for moving to rural areas in Jeonnam was ‘family,’ cited by 31.9% of households.

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