Have you ever dreamed of living in the countryside away from your ordinary life? While living their convenient daily life in the city, people also dream of living a leisurely life in nature. According to the Korea Tourism Organization, among the major activities during recent travel, the appreciation of natural scenery(60.1%) ranked first followed by food tourism(58.9%), recreation/rest(40.3%), city tours(22.6%), and visits to historical sites/museums(18.4%). As the appreciation of natural scenery (60.1%) ranked first in domestic travel activities in 2022, this indicates that people are very interested in the time they spend in nature.
● A Rustic Life Gives Relaxation and Comfort
If you are tired of city life, experience too much stress, and want some peace and quiet, then how about adopting a rustic lifestyle? A rustic lifestyle refers to ‘a rural lifestyle that encompasses relaxation and comfort away from the urban centers’ allowing city dwellers to experience an unusual daily life. It is a new lifestyle that adds simplicity to life while not being completely cut off from the city. There are many ways to enjoy a rustic life but let’s focus on ‘leaving’. People leave the city to feel the comfort of the countryside. Travel to the country and live there for a month while erasing the worries of reality, reorganizing your mind, and gaining strength. As more and more people are tired of their daily routine and want to take a break, rustic life is quickly becoming a trend.
- Steps to Starting a Rustic Life
According to <Trend Korea 2022>, a Rustic life has four stages. From traveling to and staying in the countryside, you can enjoy a rustic lifestyle in various forms.
Stage 1. Leave: Take a trip to the countryside
The first stage of a rustic life is going on a trip to find experiences that can only be found in the country. Chonkangseu [촌캉스] (spending the holiday vacation in the country) and Okkangseu [옥캉스] (spending the holiday in a hanok house) are prime examples. Take your sweet time while staying in old country houses or hanoks.
Stage 2. Stay: Spend your daily life in the countryside
If you feel sad about taking a short trip, why don't you stay there longer? The second stage is to stay in the country for an extended period, like a month. These days, living for one month in the country is taking the form of staying in various places to get away from the busy city and reset daily life. As more and more people live for a month in the country like this, there are many accommodations for a month's stay.
Stage 3. Dual life: Set up a place to stay in the city and the countryside
This stage is not a concept of travel, but rather purchasing a place of your own in the countryside. It is not a complete departure from the city, but rather a dual-life by having a residence in two places, the city and the countryside, using: villas, apartments, and studio apartments as second houses. Some people live five days in the city and two days in the country. They go to their second house on weekends to relax.
Stage 4. Nestle: Settle in the countryside
This is the complete stage of a rustic life. Make a living in the countryside, not just traveling or staying there, but by settling down completely. In this stage, people build a house that suits their taste, and then enjoy rural life. Most young people see the countryside as a place to explore their own fresh lives, which has a good impact on the countryside. They might open a trendy cafe in the undeveloped countryside, which freshens up the atmosphere. By remodeling a dilapidated building into a cafe, it can be reborn into a new space.
- After Graduation; Enjoying Rustic Life
The JBNU Globe met a former student, Hong Sammy, who recently enjoyed rustic life in Jeju Island.
She always had a dream of living in a rural region. Among several reasons why, the biggest one was to live a slow life without the hectic rhythm in the city. That’s also why she chose to live in the quietest village in Daejeong-eup.
The best choice she made was to rent a detached house. In her two-month-house, there was a mandarin tree and some flowers blooming in the garden. Watching them, she could sit in the sunlight and have a cup of local tea. Every morning, she jogged around her neighborhood, near the seashore. On lucky days, she could even see the dolphins swimming. When her host offered her some self-grown cabbages, she fully realized that she was staying in a rural area. If she has another chance, she hopes to live there for a longer time.
The most unparalleled part of her stay was being able to find other facets of herself. When riding a bicycle around the town and feeling the breeze on her face, she felt happier than ever. “I used to live a very calculated and planned life; however, when I lived a rustic life, I found myself much more relaxed and at leisure, both in mind and body,” she added.
The biggest difficulty was not being able to meet her dear friends and family. Living out of her hometown always brings her loneliness, so she thinks she could potentially make a friend next time!
- Daum Town, Wanju Youth Village; Connecting Youth and Region
We can enjoy the rustic life around us without going far. Daum Town, Wanju Youth Village, adjacent to Jeonju, provides opportunities for young people to experience rustic life. The JBNU Globe heard a detailed story about the rustic life from Kim Joo-Young, the CEO of Daum Town.
In 2021, Daum Town, Wanju Youth Village, was selected as the only youth village in Jeollabuk-do in the Youth Village Creation Support project hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. Thus, it is possible to provide an opportunity to experience local, rural life for as short as three days and two nights or as long as four weeks, for about fifty urban youths.
The youth village does not mean a physical space, but rather a variety of activities that connect the youth with the region. Daum Town helps young people to experience life in the local area, build relationships with residents, understand the community, and find opportunities to live as yourself. It also provides opportunities to experience life closer to nature, to produce rather than consume, and to live in cooperation rather than competition. In this way, people will have time to understand the region and think about a rural lifestyle in detail.
At the end of 2021, the local base camp in Daum Town was completed. In addition, various spaces such as Bibil Unduk Brokerage Office, cafés, community restaurants, guest houses, and community spaces began to open one by one. A lot of people are starting to visit as these various spaces are created. In their daily life, a lot of locals use these cafés and community restaurants. Recently, as COVID-19 has eased, people from other regions who value the connection between youth and the region come to visit.
How can you enjoy rustic life in Daum Town? You can stay at the guest house 'Daum Stay' and dine together in the community kitchen 'Together Kitchen’. You can also read a book or work in the community space 'Goraedang'. You can ride a bicycle along the nearby Mangyeonggang. In addition, you can grow vegetable gardens with the residents.
- Message to People Who Want to Practice Rustic Life
In Daum Town, four young people are currently participating in a program to explore local life for three months. Young people who have experienced this program used to think that life in the city was everything, but after this experience they said that they found courage by meeting young people living a different lifestyle in the youth village. Also, they realized that it is okay to live life at their own pace. To those who want to practice the rustic life, Daum Town CEO Kim Joo-Young said, “There are many different ways of life, so I hope you don't have to suffer because of the standards that others have set. I don't want you to be afraid of going on a different path than others. I hope you find the courage to leave the familiar city and live in a new area at your own pace and direction. Even if you go back to the city, I think your attitude towards life will be very different from before.”
The spread of online classes and remote work provides opportunities for students and office workers who had difficulties leaving the city to now be able to practice a rustic life. This is popularly termed ‘Work+Vacation,’ which breaks the stereotype that you can only work at a physical workplace and take a break from work at vacation spots. Thus, it can be possible to work remotely in the countryside. How about enjoying a rustic life this summer in the quiet countryside?
| Han Hee-jeong Editor, Lee Da-yeon Reporter, Jo Soo-jin Cub-Reporter