귀농·귀촌 요인과 농촌 사회·경제에 미치는 영향

Abstract

귀농·귀촌 가구는 2010년 4,067가구에서 2011년 10,503가구, 2012년 27,008가구, 2013년 32,424가구로 증가하였다. 귀농·귀촌 관련 뉴스가 빈번하게 매스컴에 오르내리고, ‘TV도 귀농했다’라는 표현처럼 도시민의 농촌생활에 관한 프로그램이 인기를 모으고 있다. 귀농·귀촌 관련 각종 행사에 많은 도시민들이 방문한다. 귀농·귀촌은 농업과 농촌에 국한된 현상만이 아니라 우리 사회 전체의 관심사가 된 것이다.

귀농·귀촌 현상은 우리 사회의 변화 모습과 밀접하게 연관되어 있다. 귀농·귀촌 현상을 거시적인 차원에서 종합적으로 분석하고 향후 전개 방향을 가늠해 보는 것은 귀농·귀촌 정책 수립에도 중요할 뿐만 아니라, 향후 농촌의 변화 모습을 예측해 보는 데도 매우 필요한 과제이다.

이 연구는 귀농·귀촌의 요인과 그것이 농촌 사회·경제에 미치는 영향을 파악하고자 하는 것이다. 이를 위해 이 연구에서는 관련 문헌과 귀농·귀촌 통계, 귀농·귀촌인 설문조사, 마을 이장조사, 기타 관련자 등의 심층조사를 실시하였다.

Background of Research The number of Korean urban people who returned to rural areas increased 37 times from 880 households in 2001 to 32,424 households in 2013. The phenomenon of urban-to-rural migration is not only closely related with the agriculture sector and rural areas but also with changes in national social trends. Nevertheless, previous studies on the phenomenon have considered it as individuals’ behavioral features. Few studies have examined it in connection with the society’s changes. This research aims at macroscopically identifying factors for urban people’s return to rural areas and its effects on the rural society and economy in relation to Korea’s social changes and predicting the direction of its future development. The study drew research tasks and its analytic frame through literature review; and examined the current state of urban-to-rural migration, its factors, and its impacts on the rural society through statistical analysis, surveys, and in-depth investigations.

Research Results As a frame that explains factors of the return to rural regions, we set structural factors, urban areas’ push factors, rural areas’ pull factors, policy factors, and factors of individual preference responding to these forementioned factors. When the number of city people who migrated to rural areas was compared to the economic growth rate and the unemployment rate as structural factors, the figure was inversely proportional to the economic growth rate. The recent increase in the number of return to rural areas is closely related to baby boomers getting into retirement age. Young people’s movement to rural regions is considered to reflect eco-generation’s population structure and their behavioral preference towards life. According to this study's analysis, the phenomenon of urban-to-rural migration is affected more by rural areas’ pull factors than by urban areas’ push factors. Policy factors influence the decision concerning where-to-return rather than whether-to-return. We examined the phenomenon’s impacts on the rural society and economy in the following aspects: changes in population, the regional agriculture sector, impacts on local economy and the community. The return migration to rural areas seems to mitigate rural areas’ decreasing population trend. Urban-to-rural migration pulls down the average age of national farming population, and people who move to rural areas have potential to become new leaders of local agriculture, ultimately leading to regional advancement. These people’s demand for agricultural land can be interpreted to cause increases in farmland prices. It is a factor that leads urban people’s return to remote regions with relatively low land prices. In conclusion, we looked at the development of the phenomenon of the return migration to rural areas on the demand side and the supply side (rural areas’ acceptivity). Given Korean society’s current circumstances, it is more probable that the demand for urban-to-rural migration would increase. However, a rise in the cost of rural migration due to recent trends in rural areas (including increasing urban-to-rural migration) and uncertainty about the agriculture sector's future can become suppressing factors for urbanites' return to rural areas.

Researchers: Park Si-hyun, Choi Yong-woog Research Period: 2014. 1. ~ 2014. 10. E-mail Address: shpark@krei.re.kr