SEOUL, April 28 (Xinhua) -- The number of farm households in South Korea rebounded last year, statistical ministry data showed Tuesday.
The number of farming families totaled 1,242,000 in December 2025, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics.
The figure posted 999,000 in 2023, falling below 1 million for the first time since relevant data began to be compiled in 1949, and it dropped further to 974,000 in 2024 before turning around in 2025.
The Asian country faced a so-called rural extinction crisis amid the rapidly aging population and urbanization since the 1970s, which had pulled labor away from rural areas into cities.
High entry costs for land and equipment, as well as concerns about farming profitability, discouraged young people from becoming farmers.
Of the total farming family members, the highest share of 34.5 percent was those in their 70s or older, followed by those in their 60s with 30.9 percent and those in their 50s with 15.7 percent. ■
