On the 10th, North Jeolla Province (Jeonbuk) announced it will aim to attract 22,000 returning farmers and rural settlers this year and will roll out tailored support spanning outreach, housing and long-term settlement.
The province plans to provide KRW 20.7 billion (about $15.5 million) in startup and home-purchase loans in the first half of the year to help newcomers generate income and settle stably. That represents 15.4% of the national support total.
Jeonbuk also allocated an additional KRW 7.4 billion (about $5.6 million) to fund 21 stage-specific programs for returning farmers and three rural vacant-house renovation projects, a move meant to strengthen the province’s recruitment and settlement support system.
To overcome the geographic distance from the Seoul metropolitan area and other large cities, the province will pursue a two-track recruitment strategy. The Jeonbuk new-farmer office in Seoul will lead concentrated outreach to metro residents, while the Jeonbuk office in Gimje will provide tailored training and counseling for residents from non-metro areas and nearby metropolitan regions.
Jeonbuk will also concentrate resources on housing. The province currently operates 12 on-site family training farms (140 units), 70 houses for returning farmers, and eight guesthouses (24 rooms) as temporary accommodations.
This year, the province plans to add 13 houses for returning farmers by repurposing vacant rural homes across nine cities and counties, including Jeongeup, and will complete 26-unit “Jeonbuk-style homes” in Muju and Imsil to reduce early-stage housing burdens for newcomers.
Under a KRW 3.8 billion (about $2.9 million) vacant-home and idle-facility reuse project, Jeonbuk will support remodeling and listing viable vacant houses on transaction platforms. Dilapidated homes will be demolished and the sites converted into public facilities such as parking lots and community gardens. Idle rural facilities will be repurposed as startup and social-service spaces to help revive economically lagging areas.
The province will expand hands-on, locally focused support to promote settlement.
Jeonbuk has earmarked KRW 2.5 billion (about $1.9 million) for 15 local-integration programs — including mentor–mentee pairings, practical training, village welcome events, and job- and startup-linkage services — intended to foster an environment where longtime residents and newcomers can thrive together.
Min Seon-sik, director of the provincial Agriculture, Life and Livestock Industry Bureau, said, “We will strengthen on-the-ground local integration programs and actively turn neglected rural vacant houses into new local assets. We will spare no administrative support to help returning farmers and rural settlers put down stable roots and pursue their dreams in Jeonbuk.”
