The joyful laughing sound never stops at the dinner table of △△ and □□ family. This new Mediterranean style house located in ☆☆-ri ◇◇-ri, Uiseong-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do is the home of ○○ Kim and ◎◎ Kim. The couple is typical Daegu natives who went to school and had jobs in Daegu. However, they fell in love with Uiseong at the first sight when they visited here, the town to where ◎◎ was transferred first time for her job. Then they decided to relocate to this countryside for good. They started their life in the countryside in Uiseong-eup for two years and moved to ☆☆-ri ◇◇-ri village to become real farmers. Relocating to the countryside was not an easy decision for Kim ○○, who was born and raised in a city all his life. Farming was the biggest worry as he knew nothing about it. However, thanks to the kind help of his neighbors, he now looks like a well experienced farmer. He said, “I grow garlic, peppers, and beans. The income is not much, but I feel very comfortable because I can do what I want to do.” “Food is an indispensable element of our life and I’m proud that I am a farmer who provides food to people. The more time I spend farming, the more proud I feel,” he chuckled. Then he said that he now wanted to do something beyond dry-field farming and learn how to grow apple trees and other specialty produce to be a rich farmer. △This is your first time to live in the countryside. What was the hardest thing when you wanted to settle down here? The greatest hurdle in living in the countryside is to find a place to live. There maybe many empty houses in Kisol, but not many that you can actually live in if you seriously decide to move here. Kim OO, the head of the village, helped me finding a house, so we could easily handle the issues regarding the land and the house. He was very happy when he said that he could found a fixer-upper for his family to remodel and live in. ◇◇-ri is a typical countryside village with population of 120 people, or 70 families. Most of them are farmers who grow rice, garlic, peppers and apples. The entire village feels like a family as neighbors help each other as families do. As many as eight families with kids settled down to here from cities, which makes this village relatively young. Children’s laughter never stops here and the new farmers are eager to learn farming from the farmers who used to live here. △We heard that Uiseong is the best place for those who want to come to the countryside, is that true? It is true that this town is becoming a Mecca for people who want to relocate to the countryside. Uiseong is located at the center of Gyeongsangbuk-do area. The most attractive thing about this region is relatively cheaper land. In addition, the geography and climate here allow for growing a variety of produce. The local government here implements many agricultural policies and offers an array of training and education to the new farmers from cities. Moreover, the government also provides financial subsidies for agricultural businesses and housing so that those from cities can comfortably settle down here. Recipients of the subsidies are selected from those who are eligible through the government’s review process. The amount of the subsidies for starting an agricultural business is 300 million won. You can also borrow up to 50 million won for buying or building a house at interest rates as low as 2~2.7%. Thanks to these supports, Uiseong became a very popular destination for those who want to move to the countryside. 780 families, or 1,454 people, have moved here from 2011 to 2014. Only in the first half of this year, 244 families, or 395 people, relocated to Uiseong. △You still have young children, what about their education? The Kims have two daughters, △△and □□. They go to kindergarten here and are very happy about it. The couple said they wanted them to grow up healthy in the nature while they are still young but added that the kids need to get education to be competitive in our society. He said he wishes that the children are happy, not pressured with study like kids in cities, but he also said parents in Uiseong-gun have great interest in their children’s education as those in cities. Uiseong-gun Scholarship Committee, with the fund of 10 billion won, offers media space to middle and high schools in this region so that students can take online lectures from private institutes in Seoul, take online English classes, and watch EBS lectures every morning and afterschool hours. All students can take high-quality online lectures from cities using a 1-year voucher provided by Uiseong-gun Office. They also can take initiative in their learning by utilizing online educational content for each level and subject offered by EBS. The online English classes are provided through video conference with native English speakers in the Philippines. ○○ Kim said, in particular, he has no worries about the education because towns in the countryside have scholarship committees and offer free internet connection so that students can take lectures from popular private institutes in big cities like Seoul and Daegu. △What is your dream? “This is my sixth years to came to this town and started farming. I’m still learning from senior farmers in the town and growing garlic, peppers, and beans in my5,000m2-dryland. I don’t earn much money yet, but feel very comfortable because I can do what I want to do. Food is an indispensable element of our life and I’m proud that I am a farmer who provides food to people. The more time I spend farming, the more proud I feel,” ○○Kim said. He was ambitious about growing apples and other specialty produce and becoming a wealthy farmer. He said his small wish was that △△ and □□ grow up healthy and his family stays happy, looking further ahead into the future with generous hearts.