RURAL TOWN ATTRACTS ELDERLY RETIREES

[Anchor Lead]

Rural towns struggling with shrinking populations are trying desperately to attract young residents. But the city of Gongju in Chungcheongnam-do Province is doing otherwise -- it's trying to attract elderly retirees.

[Pkg]

Three couples plant corn in the field in warm sunshine. Their farming skills are far from perfect, but they are eager to learn.

[Soundbite] "Grow well."

The couples were selected to participate in a program offered by Gongju City free of charge to city-dwellers who want to sample bucolic life for three months. Competition for the program was quite fierce, with 12 applicants per spot. Only retirees including those who used to work for public agencies were selected, beating young applicants.

[Soundbite] (Lee Eon-ho, Han Jin-ae) : "I think we can bond with locals faster than young people."

The Gongju City government decided to attract retirees to counter population decline as finding young people who are willing to move to rural areas is difficult. High housing and land prices in Gongju due to its proximity to Sejong hamper young people from moving there. That's why the city government turned its eyes to retirees, a strategy not tried so far by other regions.

[Soundbite] Kim Ho-kwan(Gongju City Gov‘t) : "This project focuses mostly on retired public officials. We devised our strategy with them in mind."

Thanks to the welcoming atmosphere, the participants feel more confident their transition to rural life will be successful.

[Soundbite] (Chang Mun-soo, Kim Kyung-soon) : "It was great to feel soil under my feet. I have gained confidence that we can settle down here successfully if we try harder."

With rural areas struggling to avert population cliffs, attracting retirees could be a successful strategy.