韓国農村における6次産業化の現状と帰農者の役割に関する研究 ―慶尚南道密陽市を事例として―

概要

After the Korean War, South Korea has undergone rapid industrial development mainly through the shift from agriculture to light and heavy industries, resulting in a large increase in GDP per capita. As of 2018, the GDP of the agricultural sector is only 1.8% of the total, and the gap in GDP per capita in urban and rural areas is very large. With an increasingly aging population in rural villages, in recent years Returnee Farmers have been garnering attention as a potential solution to the decline in productive labor. Returnee Farmers are those who have moved to rural areas and taken up farming after having lived in the city for at least one year, regardless of whether they are from rural areas originally or not.

In the 1990s, before the current labor shortage due to an aging population, the government promoted various policies to promote migration to rural areas. In particular, policies were implemented to integrate urban and rural economies. One such policy was the promotion of Sixth Industrialization. However, policy implementation was not successful and seem to be tied to the low educational background in rural areas.

In the 2010s, the retirement of baby boomers led to the rapid increase in Returnee Farmers which resulted in new challenges in rural communities. With the arrival of Returnee Farmers, rural municipalities are able to benefit from an increase in tax revenue, which incentivize rural municipalities to compete in order to attract a greater number of Returnee Farmers. Rural municipalities also expect that Returnee Farmers will enable Sixth Industrialization initiatives to succeed. However, there are doubts about whether all Returnee Farmers engage in agriculture after moving to rural areas and there is not much empirical research in South Korea on the consequences of Returnee Farmer-centric policies that exclude local rural populations.

This dissertation uses a case study of Returnee Farmers in Miryang City, Gyeongsangnam-do to clarify the relationship between Returnee Farmers and local residents of rural villages. In addition to defining the concept of Sixth Industrialization in South Korea, this study examines the role that Returnee Farmers play in the rural local economy. To this end, it was also necessary to first determine the current status of agricultural activities such as management scale, profitability, processing initiatives, the introduction of off-farm labor and sales channels. In particular, this study examined how Returnee Farmers implemented Sixth Industrialization processes in rural areas.

Results from this study show that the Sixth Industrialization initiative has been systematized and it is easier for those who are able to decipher documentation to utilize Sixth Industrialization certification to accrue benefits. Those who actively pursue recognition under Sixth Industrialization are expected to have a high educational background, however, the majority of those in rural areas of South Korea lack higher education. In addition, this study found that Returnee Farmers have weak relationships with local residents. Some of the Returnee Farmers surveyed for this study were highly advanced in their agricultural operations and were able to obtain Sixth Industrialization certification. In addition, although there were few personal relationships between Returnee Farmers and local residents, there were many instances of business relationships fostered through sales contracts. These contractual relationships usually took the form of Returnee Farmers purchasing product from local residents and selling it to the co-operative at a profit. The nature of these business relationships were considered win-win for both local residents and Returnee Farmers, as local residents were able to secure an additional sales channel for their product, while Returnee Farmers were able to profit from taking a surcharge on these sales. Finally, this study found that Returnee Farmers who had little background in agriculture, however had a high educational background, were able to access more funding and were able to find novel ways to add value to their products that local resident farmers could not. This demonstrates that this gap in information between information and income in rural areas can lead to new social issues in the future.

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