Dongil Kim GN_124

Q: When did you start farming, and what did you do before? 

I moved to the farm in 2018 but I started farming properly in 2019. I used to give a lecture at the university. 

Q: What are the rewards and difficulties of practicing eco-friendly farming? 

My self-esteem. Rather than competing with others, I am able to enjoy my own time and be in harmony with the law of nature. I would like to make a better life solely by farming. I am very satisfied with my life as a farmer but the only difficulty is that I inevitably need to do something else to make a living. 

Q: How long have you been hosting WWOOFers?  

It is my second year since 2023. Due to my personal circumstances, I haven’t met as many WWOOFers as I wanted. I feel proud of myself as a host and get inspired by people who I met through WWOOF. 

Q: What tasks do WWOOFers typically work on your farm? 

It may slightly vary by season. Most of the common work is weeding. Our main crops are rice, mini pumpkins and spinach. We plant the mini pumpkins from March and start the native Korean rice farming from May. We harvest the mini pumpkins till August, the rice till October and plant the spinach in December. There was nothing much to do in January and February. From time to time, you might work at our cafe.  

Q: What experiences or activities can you offer WWOOFers besides farming? 

We are closely working on a few projects to increase the related population and the living population of Namhae. We might work on related projects together. 

Q: Are there any memorable WWOOFer from your experience? 

The first means a lot for us. Our farm’s first Korean WWOOFer was Eunjeong Jo. After working at the big corporation, she was having one-year-off travel around Korea as a farmer and WWOOFer to experience the different side of life. Quite recently there was our first foreign WWOOFer, Ariane Proy. She was impressive in every way and we learned a lot while spending time with her. I wish her the best for the future.

Q: Can you give a message for readers of the WWOOF Korea newsletter?

Please share WWOOF far and wide to people who haven’t experienced it yet!