농어촌 정주공간의 변화와 정책과제

Abstract

농어촌 정주공간이 사회·경제적 변화에 따라 어떠한 영향을 받고 장차 어떻게 변해갈지 진단하고 그에 대응한 정책과제를 모색하기 위해 이 연구가 출발하였다. 2개 연도에 걸쳐 수행되는 연구의 제1차 연도에 해당하는 올해는 농어촌 정주공간에 나타나는 다양한 현상들을 실증적으로 파악하는 데 초점을 두었다.

보다 정확한 현상 진단을 위해 이 연구에서는 농어촌 정주공간의 구성 요소인 인구, 생활환경, 경제활동, 공동체 등을 분석 대상으로 설정하였으며 공간적으로는 배후 마을과 소재지를 모두 포괄하였다. 또한 연구 방법에서도 전국적인 수준의 통계 분석과 4개 시·군의 12개 읍·면에 대한 심층 조사를 병행하였다.

이 연구에서 밝힌 결과들은 우리나라 농어촌의 변화 양상을 보다 입체적이고 객관적으로 파악하는 데 도움이 될 것이다. 특히 농어촌 마을의 과소화 실태와 마을 공동체의 역할 변화, 그리고 농어촌 중심지와 배후지의 관계 변화 등은 농어촌 정책 수립을 위한 기초자료로 활용될 수 있을 것이다.

Background of Research Our country is experiencing population drain, hollowing out and aging due to continuous decrease in population. However, recently the number of people returning to a rural region is increasing and the number of people who are leaving a rural region is decreasing, and therefore the trend of decrease in population is rather stagnated or is slowing down. However, settlement space in rural areas is rapidly changing together with such changes, and pertinent policies need to be changed as well.

Method of Research In this regard, the definition of settlement space was given through literature review while examining the analysis on the factors that affect such changes. And based on the statistics, the statuses of socio-economic settlement conditions were compared, and surveys on the attitude toward settlement and changes in settlement space were conducted. Lastly, changes in settlement space pursuant to the changes in rural areas of advanced countries and subsequent government policies were described, and implications to domestic policies were derived.

Research Results and Implications Major results of the analysis on the changes in the settlement space of rural areas are as follows. First, populations of the villages in the center were increasing and the houses of people who returned to a rural area were forming a complex at a place distant from existing villages or were individually located, thus the houses were forming an another village separated from existing villages. Second, economic activities in which people in rural region are engaged were generally concentrated in the domestic market. The result of the comparison of inward and outward commutation volumes revealed that the range of increase in outward commutation in Yangpyeong was bigger compared to the inward, and inward commutation of 3 counties except Yangpyeong was getting bigger than outward commutation. Third, the result of a survey conducted on the changes in the frequency of central area visits by rural villagers to make use of basic services revealed that the functions of Eup and Myeon as centers of the basic services seemed to be maintained in general. Fourth, in relation to community activities in the rural region, activities such as general meeting, joint condolence or congratulation event or fellowship meeting seemed to be actively carried out, but the activities such as joint agricultural work or road and waterway management were not active. And some villages that are trying to find a way out through urban-rural exchanges have a positive perception on the future of their communities. Through this analysis, this research can draw the following conclusions. First, population drain is diffused in a considerable number of rural villages, and according to such phenomenon community activities which are performed at the village level became vulnerable in many regions. Second, some villages are seeking a new way out through urban-rural exchanges, but it is fundamentally difficult for the population-draining villages with many aged people to participate in such activities. Third, even in the case of village level activities, farm tour activities based on individual interest were activated but the activities which were carried out by traditional village community are anticipated to be continuously weakened.

Researchers: Ju-In Seong, Si-Hyun Park, Yong-Ryul Kim, Byeong-Seok Yoon, and Ki-Cheon Nam E-mail address: jiseong@krei.re.kr