Wanju County Implements 'Rural Stay Shelter' Using Temporary Accommodations

"Rural Life Hub... Expectations for Revitalizing the Local Economy"

Wanju County in North Jeolla Province is implementing the "Rural Stay-type Shelter" in accordance with the revision of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs' Enforcement Rules of the Farmland Act, allowing temporary accommodations on farmland.

According to the county on the 17th, the rural stay-type shelter is a temporary accommodation in the form of a temporary building with a total floor area of 33 square meters (about 10 pyeong) or less, installed to support weekend or experiential farming by urban residents and agricultural management by farmers, without the need for farmland conversion permits.

Wanju County Office building exterior. Provided by Wanju County

Ancillary facilities such as eaves (within 1 meter), decks (within 1.5 meters from the outer wall), and parking lots (open type, within 13.5 square meters) can be installed, and some facilities are excluded from the total floor area calculation.

Since the shelter is a temporary accommodation intended for residence, it can only be installed on farmland accessible by fire trucks and ambulances, and at least twice the area of the shelter site must be secured as farmland. In addition, residential fire safety facilities such as fire extinguishers and standalone alarms must be installed, and farmland other than the shelter and ancillary facilities must be actually used for agricultural management or weekend experiential farming.

Farmers wishing to install a shelter can visit the Agricultural and Livestock Division for a preliminary review, then submit a temporary building construction notification and required documents (site plan, floor plan, land use consent, etc.) to the Open Civil Service Division. After review by the relevant departments, a notification certificate can be issued. Existing owners of farm huts are also given a three-year grace period to convert them into stay-type shelters.

Facilities such as electricity, water supply, and sewage treatment must be reported separately according to individual laws, and if an access road (from road to parking lot) is to be constructed on farmland, an application for farmland conversion permit (consultation) is required.

County Governor Yoo Heetae said, "We expect that the rural stay-type shelter will serve as a hub that makes rural life more accessible and will greatly contribute to revitalizing the rural economy of Wanju County in the future."