The Korean countryside is conservative. An unpretentious conservatism that digests the facts of life slowly, and resists modernity. As the locals say- “that what we have is enough, thank you”.

As in many places in the world, the Korean rural society is in decline. The youth migrated a long time ago to the cities. It seemed that the old ways would be lost forever. But, in fact, it seems that some of those city dwellers are now renouncing urban life and are returning, gradually, to live among the mountains and fields. Because even in the more remote rural villages, the Korean countryside offers good infrastructure as well as modern communications. There is even possibilities of work.

The Korean countryside preserves the taste of authenticity… In the mountains of Korea one still can hear the wooden percussive sound of the "Moktak", summoning the consciousness of all sentient beings. Its hollow ”thock” resounds from valley to valley. And down on the plains, your eyes glimpse the fleeting glint of dragonflies as they flit over the endless fields of shimmering rice. Fields carefully tendered by the local farmers and stretching as if a vast a sea rolling onto the distant horizon. Fields that encompass the legacy of past endeavours and now hold a vision of the future for rural Korea and the people who choose to live there. -- Oriol Casanovas