This study was conducted for the purpose of analyzing the changes in public awareness of agriculture and agricultural villages for the past 10 years, analyzing the factors that affect the changes in farmers’ and urban people’s awareness of agriculture and rural villages, and establishing a new survey system including overall survey questions and sample redesign, using the data about “the survey on the changes in public awareness of agriculture and agricultural villages” which is conducted by the Korea Rural Economic Institute at the end of each year.

Key results of the study show that the farmers’ satisfaction with rural life has continued to rise every year, amounting to three times that of 10 years ago. However, the outlook for the future appeared to be clearly negative.

The farmers’ satisfaction with their jobs increased from 15.8% in 2003 to 25.0% in 2012, showing that four of 10 people were satisfied with their jobs. As for the elements that threat agricultural management, the increase in cost of production ranked the highest, amounting to 30% of the answers, followed by the shortage of manpower and the expansion of import due to market opening. The number of farmers who recognized weather conditions as a threat has increased every year along with the increase of crop disasters.

The study showed that 4 out of 10 urban people were interested in agriculture and rural issues, and the responses that farming experiences should be included in the K-12 curriculum also increased by 19%p from the responses of 5 years ago, recording 92.9%. Eight out of 10 people recognized the importance of agriculture in the national economy and only 18.4% of the urban people agreed to reducing the investment in agriculture.

Recognition of the value of agriculture and rural villages in public interests did not show a significant change, at the level of 50-60%, but the willingness to pay additional taxes has fallen since 2010.

Five out of ten urban people answered that they were willing to return to farming or to become farmers but the willingness to move to rural villages did not show a distinct increase. The reasons for returning to farming or becoming farmers were shown to be affected more by economic aspects.

It was clear that the urban people, as consumers, were against the expansion of the opening of the agricultural markets. However, the number of respondents that would purchase the locally grown agricultural products after the opening of the agricultural market expands, even though they are more expensive than the imported, has declined every year.

With regard to the recognition of the importance of agriculture and the outlook for agriculture in Korea, the urban people appeared to be more positive than the farmers. Eight out of 10 farmers showed negative prospects for Korean agriculture in the next 10 years.

Though considering food supply, natural environment conservation, and balanced land development as important roles of agriculture and rural villages at present, both farmers and urban people expected that the function of agriculture and rural villages as a leisure and tourism resource would be significantly strengthened.

As a determinant of the farmers' job satisfaction, the impact of the level of the prospect for agriculture became bigger in 2012 than in 2009. In terms of the level of satisfaction with rural life, the impact of “evaluating the standard of rural life in comparison to 5 years ago” was found to be significant. In the evaluation of the quality of farmers' life, the impact of “satisfaction with rural life” increased while that of “job satisfaction” decreased, compared to 2009.

As a determinant of the urban people's recognition of the value of agriculture and rural life as public interest, the significance of “usual interest in the issues concerning agriculture and rural villages” increased in 2012 compared to 2009.

As factors that would be most likely to increase the urban people's opinion in favor of increasing the welfare budget for rural villages, “recognition of the value of agriculture and rural villages as public interest” and “willingness to live in rural villages after retirement” were evaluated to be important, both in 2009 and 2012.

Researchers: Dong-Weon Kim, Hye-Jin Park, Young-Seok Yoon, Mi-Ree Kim
Research Period: 2013. 6. ～ 2013. 11.
E-mail address: dongweon@krei.re.kr