The Roles of Rural Extension for the Structural Adjustment of Rural Korea

The rural extension in Korea faces transient period since Green Revolution. The urban-centered rapid industrialization policies have initiated the changes in rural and agricultural sector. Nowadays, the World Trade Organization (WTO), newly established by the agreement of the Uruguay Round (UR), is accelerating the changes in rural areas. The rural structural adjustment program established in 1990, in order to cope with the internal and external changes encompassing rural Korea. The rural structure adjustment program is a political responses to reduce the development gaps among industries and regions within the country and to reinforce the price competitiveness of agricultural products toward trade liberalization. This study aims to apply the contents and principles of the rural structural adjustment program for the extension education. It argues that the rural extension should play a pivotal role to gather, process, and deliver the information related to the rural structural adjustment initiating rapid rural social changes. It suggests that the rural extension services should deal with the development of industries through introducing business management techniques and linking relevant laborers, and the education and employment guidance of potential employees as well as the technological assistance on farm management to farmers.