"You move to the countryside for an easier life and end up a slave to your house."
Many city dwellers dream of a relaxed life in the countryside, but the reality can be different. Unexpected hardships await, from lawn care and home repairs to friction with neighbors. One architect has laid out the conditions prospective buyers must weigh before building a rural home.
Returning Farmers Up 8.5%, While 184,000 Rural Movers Went Back to the City
The number of people returning to farming reached 11,617 last year, up 8.5% from 10,710 a year earlier, according to the 2025 Statistics on Return to Farming, Fishing and Rural Areas, released jointly on the 25th by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the National Data Agency. Households returning to farming also rose 6.0% to 8,735.
The increase was most pronounced among older people and women. People in their 70s and older accounted for 8.5% of all returning farmers last year, up from 5.7% in 2015. The share of women rose to 37.0% from 31.2% over the same period.
By contrast, the number of people moving to rural areas without taking up farming declined. That figure fell 2.2% to 413,464 last year, while such households slipped 0.5% to 316,977.
Jobs were the most common reason for moving to the countryside, cited by 32.1%, followed by housing at 26.1% and family at 25.4%.
Not everyone who settles in a rural area stays. Among those who moved within the past five years, 1,969 returning farmers, or 3.4%, and about 184,000 rural movers, or 8.3%, have since returned to cities.
Settling in also required considerable preparation. The average preparation period was 27.4 months for those returning to farming and 15.5 months for those moving to rural areas, according to the 2025 Survey on Return to Farming and Rural Areas, released by the agriculture ministry on Feb. 26.
Still, about 70% said they were satisfied with life in the countryside. The share who said they intend to stay in their current area was also high, at 97.0% among returning farmers and 86.3% among rural movers.
'I Rented a Country House for Two Years First': What to Consider Before Building
So what should come first in preparing for a successful move to the countryside?
Lim Hyung-nam, head of Gaon Architecture, said on the YouTube channel Saemeot TV, which has about 60,000 subscribers, that relations with neighbors matter more than the view from the site or the design of the house.
"You have to first consider whether you can come into this neighborhood and blend in and live here," Lim said. "Don't be romantic about it. Judge wisely."
One client did exactly that. After finding a village they liked, they did not immediately build. Instead, they spent two years in a jeonse (a Korean lease system requiring a large lump-sum deposit instead of monthly rent) rental, mixing with residents. Only after adjusting to the village and building ties with neighbors did they buy a home nearby.
"You can always get a house built one way or another, but what matters more is the people in the neighborhood, and then how you are going to get close to nature," Lim said, warning that moving without a period of adjustment often ends in failure.
Couples planning a rural retirement together also need to consider each other's way of life.
Lim described cases in which a wife who moved to the countryside at her husband's urging could not give up her existing relationships and social life and returned to Seoul. In some cases, the husband left behind could not bear the loneliness either and went back to the city as well.
'You Go for an Easier Life and Become a Slave to the House': Think Twice About That Lawn
Unlike an apartment, a rural house requires the owner to handle most of the upkeep inside and out.
"When you move to a rural house, you have to do everything yourself," Lim said. "People who tremble at the thought of changing a light bulb will have a really hard time in a rural house."
The broad lawn widely seen as the symbol of rural living is especially demanding. When mowing grass and pulling weeds become a routine, a space meant for rest can turn into a burden instead.
"You went to the house for an easier life, and you become a slave to the house," he said, suggesting owners lay decomposed granite in the yard instead of grass and confine flower beds to a set area.
Terraces and swimming pools also require an honest assessment of whether the owner can handle maintenance after installation. When drawing up a budget, he advised, buyers should account not only for land and construction costs but also for furniture and fixtures, taxes and landscaping work.
Attitudes toward nature matter as well. Lim said he bought land in the Gapyeong and Cheongpyeong areas of Gyeonggi Province about five years ago and has left it undeveloped, simply watching it. At first daisy fleabane grew, he said, and over time other plants and trees took root on their own.
"When I enter nature, it's not about deciding what I'm going to do with nature — I'm the one being accommodated here," he said. "You have to accept nature as it is, weeds included, and think about how to live alongside it."