Goheung County Establishes Nation's First Education Platform for Return-to-Farming, Rural Living, and Foreigners

Designation as Ministry of Justice Social Integration Program Learning Center
Full-Scale Support for Settlement of Foreigners and Return-to-Farming and Rural Living Individuals

Goheung County in South Jeolla Province (Governor Gong Youngmin) announced on May 19 that the "Goheung Return-to-Farming and Rural Living Happiness School" has been selected as a regional learning center for the Ministry of Justice-designated social integration program.

The county will establish the nation’s first integrated education platform for population inflow, which will systematically support the attraction and settlement of return-to-farming and rural living individuals as well as foreign immigrants.

The "Goheung Return-to-Farming and Rural Living Happiness School" has been selected as a regional learning center for the Ministry of Justice-designated social integration program, enabling the establishment of an integrated education platform that systematically supports the attraction and settlement of return-to-farming and rural living individuals as well as foreign immigrants. Provided by Goheung County

The Ministry of Justice’s social integration program regional learning centers are settlement support systems that provide various forms of education, including language instruction, life information, and social understanding classes, to help foreigners settle stably in Korean society.

The county has linked this program with the "Return-to-Farming and Rural Living Happiness School" to establish a credible population inflow education system that supports the settlement of foreigners, including those returning to farming and rural living.

The Goheung Return-to-Farming and Rural Living Happiness School, which opened in September 2019 as the nation’s first specialized education institution for return-to-farming and rural living directly operated by a local government, has produced a total of about 700 graduates to date. Over the past six years, a cumulative total of 10,919 people have moved to Goheung for farming and rural living, and the school has played a pivotal role in establishing the county as the nation’s leading destination for return-to-farming.

With the designation of the regional learning center, the county plans to position foreign immigrants as a key pillar in restoring the local population and will actively support the stable settlement of foreigners through a variety of immigration policies and education programs.

Until now, Goheung lacked social integration program education institutions and facilities for foreign workers, making it difficult to facilitate long-term visa transitions and discover immigrant resources. However, with the operation of the new regional learning center, settlement conditions for foreign workers are expected to improve significantly.

Meanwhile, the county plans to continue developing and implementing various tailored immigration policies, such as operating a foreigner settlement support center, attracting region-specific visa talent, inviting workers’ families, and establishing a fast-track immigration system.