Rural care in South Korea is evolving into a comprehensive model that integrates agriculture, medical care, and essential life services. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) announced on the 21st that its pilot project, which links "social farming" with "medical-welfare social cooperatives," has yielded significant results in establishing a field-oriented care system.
■ From Indoor Confinement to Outdoor Healing
The pilot project, conducted in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi Province, aimed to solve the shortage of welfare and medical services in rural areas. Traditionally, welfare facility users suffered from a lack of outdoor space. In this new model, social farms serve as open-air care centers.
Participants engaged in agricultural activities such as strawberry harvesting and making herb sachets. Simultaneously, the Yangpyeong Medical Welfare Social Cooperative provided on-site primary check-ups before and after these activities and offered personalized nutritional meal plans based on each participant’s health status.
■ Significant Improvement in Physical and Cognitive Health
The results were more than just experiential. MAFRA reported visible changes in the participants, including:
Increased Mobility: More participants attempted to walk independently and actively engaged in farm work.
Social Expansion: Interaction among participants increased significantly.
Clinical Improvement: Key indicators, including physical function and cognitive activation levels, showed measurable improvement.
■ Scaling the Model: Nationwide Expansion
Social farming is a model designed to provide care, education, and employment to vulnerable groups—including the elderly, people with disabilities, and multicultural families—through agricultural activities.
The government has been aggressively scaling this initiative. The number of social farms receiving support (up to 55 million KRW per site) has increased to 101 locations this year. Additionally, "Service Communities," where residents directly provide meals and daily life support, have grown from 22 sites in 2022 to 66 sites in 2026, with grants up to 69 million KRW.
■ Success Stories Across the Peninsula
Other regions are also reporting success:
Andong, Gyeongsangbuk-do: Conducted 80 sessions for 60 individuals with developmental disabilities, combining farm-work education with outdoor care.
Jeju Island: Focused on connecting job opportunities and income for people with severe disabilities through repetitive agricultural tasks.
"We have confirmed a new rural care model that seamlessly connects medical care, social farming, and daily services," said Jeon Han-young, Director General of the Rural Policy Bureau at MAFRA. "We will continue to identify and support local service providers to further strengthen this community-based care system."
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