Seniors turn to farming, fishing as means to earn post retirement

A young man harvests strawberries at a farm in Geochang County, South Gyeongsang on Feb. 2. [NEWS1]

The number of farmers and fishermen is increasing fast in Korea as more seniors turn to the some of the oldest occupations after retirement.

A total of 1.53 million people were hired in the agriculture and fisheries sector last year, up 4.6 percent on year, according to data by Statistics Korea.

In terms of increase rate, it was higher than manufacturing’s 3.1 percent and construction’s 1.6 percent.

Seniors largely contributed to the increase. In May last year, the number of farmers and fishermen increased by 122,000 on year, and of them, nearly 50 percent were people aged between 65 and 79.

Statistics Korea collects data on senior hires every May.

“I barely earn any money as I just sell the crops to my acquaintances for now,” said a 65-year-old farmer surnamed Moon, who farms chili peppers on 500-pyeong (0.4-acre) of land in Boryeong, South Chungcheong.

“I received financial aid from the local government, and am taking some training programs to start online sales through social media.”

But it’s not only older people who are choosing to become farmers. A growing number of young people are making the move to the countryside to farm.

A total of 14,461 people relocated to the countryside to become farmers in 2021, up 15 percent on year, according to the latest data by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The number and increase rate are both new record highs.

Of them, 1,522 were young people under 40, up 11.1 percent on year.

Local governments are strengthening policies to encourage more people to move to the countryside in order to boost populations.

Gangwon Provincial Government offers loans to those who move to regions for farming with an interest rate of 1 percent. Additional financial aid for settling down is also available.

“Many elderly people choose to become farmers or fishermen after retirement as living in the countryside costs less money and they can at least make some earnings,” said Ma Sang-jin, a researcher from the Korea Rural Economic Institute.

“This situation applies to all generations.”

BY JEONG JIN-HO, SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]