People had rushed to cities following a high level of industrialization and urbanization and now there are return farmers. To revitalize rural areas and local economy, the government is providing those who are migrating to rural areas with supports for education, housing, and finance. The urban-rural migration policy has been promoted in combination with various policies that are designed to increase population in the rural area, revitalize farming, and promote agricultural start-ups. However, return farmers are experiencing great difficulties in settling down in rural areas as most policies devised to support them focus on the preparation stage and implementation stage.
This study surveyed the experience of urban-rural migration, the problems in the process of migration, and how urban-rural migration policies are received by young people through in-depth interviews conducted with return farmers in Jeollabuk-do and the officials who are related with urban-rural migration policies. The problems involved with the migration were identified and solutions and implications were derived from the interview results. Also, the minutes of the meetings of the sixth Jeollabuk-do Provincial Council as well as the councils of Jinan-gun and Gochang-gun were analyzed to investigate responses to the urban-rural migration.
Urban-rural migration policies made significant turning points in 2009, 2012, and 2016. In 2009, phase-in policies were presented under three objectives: providing jobs for urban residents, intensifying the competitiveness of agricultural foods, and securing residents in rural area. In 2012, six policies were implemented with the goal of securing 20,000 households in the rural area to quantitatively expand urban-rural migration. In 2016, a 5-year comprehensive migration support plan was established for the first time with the focus on promoting young people to start agricultural businesses and supporting the settlement of return farmers.
The following are the results of the in-depth interviews conducted with return farmers; First, return farmers must have a strong will for migration and must make thorough preparations. Second, the channel for acquiring information varies depending on the purpose of migration. Third, experiential training and mentoring are very important in urban-rural migration policies. Fourth, establishing a relationship with native residents is quite important.
The following are the problems of the urban-rural migration policies indicated by return farmers; First, training and its contents are perfunctory, the subsidy involves a problem with respect to redemption period, and the public relations policies only focus on inducing return farmers. Second, the reasons for re-migration include the conflict with native residents and the wish to move out of the area they migrated to. Lastly, insufficient preparation, insufficient economic condition, and return farmers' own issues such as family feud or disorganization following migration.
As solutions to these issues, the return farmers and the officials concerned with urban-rural migration policies expressed the following; First, return farmers need experience-oriented training than theory-based training and a mentor throughout the migration process, and advice on eliminating conflicts that may occur during the settlement period. Second, the subsidies should take into account the ability to redeem while the provision of overall system including information, increased opportunity to learn, medical service, distribution network, and the establishment of a relationship with native residents is more important than simple monetary support. Lastly, policies focusing on settlement should be intensified regarding public relations. All respondents perceived the conflict with native residents as a serious problem. They regarded the policies distinguishing return farmers from native residents as one of the causes of the conflict and suggested that return farmers change their attitudes and thoughts by learning about the local society as a solution to eliminate the conflict. Both groups shared the idea that return farmers' own issues can be also resolved through the training throughout the migration process.
In the analysis of provincial and county councils' minutes, county councils' minutes suggested more specific policy alternatives than the provincial council' s minutes and there were many comments on each issue.
All interviewees in the in-depth interviews said the government has prepared great policies but there is a gap between policies and their actual implementations. Discussions found the following implications on migration policies;
First, the contents of the policy varies depending on which policy the central government regards the "urban-rural migration" to be a part of while the biggest goal of local governments is to bring in people regardless of the central government.
Second, the government is promoting the migration of young people as a part of the "Job Creation for Young People" policy and established the promotion of agricultural start-ups and the start-ups in the sixth industry as major projects under the policy, but the young generation with no experience has little chance of succeeding.
Finally, policies that prepare return farmers for the "conflict" from the preparation stage is required to resolve re-migration due to the "conflict" and the conflict with the local society, and so forth.