Young Farmers

[Anchor Lead]

Rural communities are steadily losing vitality with the aging population and the exodus of younger people. However, more young people have opted to follow in their parents' footsteps and devote themselves to farming.

[Pkg]

26-year-old Seong Hye-won is busy pollinating succulent plants like cacti. This retired pro golfer joined her parents last year in operating a succulent farm. The farm earns over 200 million won in sales annually. But the young farmer has a bigger dream.

[Soundbite] Seong Hye-won(2nd-generation Farmer) : "Many succulent plants are exported. They can live longer without water and soil. So I am thinking about ways to ship them abroad."

33-year-old Choi Yoon-beom produces traditional Korean soybean sauces doenjang and cheonggukjang with beans he grows and ferments. He also took over his parents' farms two years ago.

[Soundbite] Choi Yoon-beom(2nd-generation Farmer) : "I want to run a farm in which consumers can taste and enjoy the products together through first-hand experience programs and the distribution of fermented soybean blocks."

There are some 110,000 young, second-generation farmers across the nation. Full of passion and ambition, these young farmers aim to develop their family farms into successful businesses. While breathing vitality into rural communities with aging populations, they are also promoting a revival of the agricultural industry.