Registration for the Latter Semiannual Group WWOOF 2024: Now Open!
  Group WWOOF is a weekend program  where participants assist farmwork  and receive accommodation in return. By cooperating with others at organic farms, you’ll be rewarded with the enrichment surpassing that of simple volunteer a soothing moment in the nature. In addition, the host will share the first-hand philosophy and discourse regarding their farming methods and agriculture. The latter semiannual group WWOOF will invite participants for two separate periods - programs scheduled on August to September will be open for registration during June, and those on October to November – August 1st. Refer to the table below and apply. ◆ Information on the August-September Group WWOOF - 3 one-day programs, duplicate application is allowed - Usual activity hour: 10 AM to 4-5 PM, may differ based on circumstance - The host will offer lunch - Transport expense are borne by individual; public transportation or carpooling will be available - Only adults of 18 and older can participate - Individual application is required for group participation - The schedule may change or be cancelled depending on the weather and natural disasters. - Foreigners can participate, but separate interpretation is not provided. Participation Fee (fixed price for both one-day and overnight programs)...
WWOOFKorea News ㆍ wwoofkorea ㆍ 2024.07.06 ㆍ Votes 0 ㆍ Views 224
Host of the Month: GW122 Jonghyuk Choi of Samyang Farm
"Re-learning the value and importance of agriculture through WWOOF Korea" Q: When did you start farming, and what did you do before?  I studied agriculture back in university. Though it was very essential to our lives, I didn’t find it interesting at that time and chose another field. While working on various events such as local festivals, performance planning, and arts education, I met lots of artists and people for 10 years. About a year ago, I came across the job post that Samyang Roundhill looked for an event and festival planner. I had good memories with Samyang as a part-time job and wanted to be a part of their new attempts. Q: What are the rewards and difficulties of practicing eco-friendly farming?   I don’t know all the difficulties as I don’t work in the field directly. The biggest part might be the financial side. Samyang Round Hill as a subsidiary of Samyang Foods is involved in a part of corporate management. It is undoubtedly meaningful to grow grass and feed cows in a healthier and eco-friendly way. But there are difficulties considering costs and profits from the business viewpoint. Personally, I feel proud of cultivating the field to pass...
WWOOFKorea News ㆍ wwoofkorea ㆍ 2024.06.06 ㆍ Votes 0 ㆍ Views 354
WWOOFer of the Month: Charles Muller from France
  Could you briefly introduce yourself? I've been working for a French non-profit organization for 5 years. It's an organization for refugees in France. We provided accommodation, social support, French classes, and more activities to help them and their families to make ground in France. I really enjoyed working there but I decided to have a one-year gap to come to Korea and travel. As my mother is Korean, it's not my first time here but I've never stayed more than one month before.   What motivated you to WWOOF in Korea? I decided to do WWOOFing for several reasons. I would like to discover the Korean countryside because I've only experienced Korean cities before, and there are many beautiful areas in different regions of Korea. I wanted to learn more about organic farming techniques and Korean vegetables and wild plants so I could try to collect or grow them back in France as well. Many wild plants we find in Korea are also available in France but people don’t eat them (like Gosari, Dotori, Ssuk). It's quite easy to collect them in France as no one else is interested (except for Koreans living in France, but they are not...
WWOOFKorea News ㆍ wwoofkorea ㆍ 2024.06.06 ㆍ Votes 0 ㆍ Views 494
Host of the Month: CN117 Park Jongbin & Noh Seunghee
We are conducting interview with a host every month. Who is the Host of the Month? Here we introduce promising young farmers from South Chungcheong province.     Q: When did you start farming, and what did you do before? A: We came to Hongseong in 2017 to learn farming and had our own farm in 2020. As I came to the countryside right after graduating school at 25, I haven’t worked before starting farming.   Q: What are the rewards and difficulties of practicing eco-friendly farming?  When I first started farming, I grew vegetables on the fields without covering up with soil. Naturally as I had a trouble in drainage, we poured rice husks, straws, green fertilizers and microorganisms into the soil. While doing it, the quality of the fields get improved and we’ve felt proud of it till these days.  The most difficult thing about farming is probably weeding. In eco-friendly farming, we spent half of the time in clearing away weeds. I think Most of WWOOFers might agree with me.   Q: How long have you been hosting WWOOFers? What are your impressions of hosting so far? A: I became a new host in 2023 and have...
WWOOFKorea News ㆍ wwoofkorea ㆍ 2024.05.10 ㆍ Votes 0 ㆍ Views 285
WWOOFer of the month: Choi Seung-ahn from Seoul, Korea
Q: Could you briefly introduce yourself? Since my early twenties I’ve lived with the mindset of trying whatever stir up my curiosities. I like what I do and I live the way I want to. If possible, I worked and earned some money and then did what I wanted to experience. Lately I am taking a break time and working as a volunteer at WWOOF Korea.   Q: How did you find out about WWOOF and what make you to participate in?  I studied and thought a lot about how to eat healthy food. Naturally I got curious about the very first person to deal with food ingredients, and it led me to the life of a farmer. While looking for farmers who live in a healthier and sustainable way close to nature, I came across with WWOOF Korea.  I knew nothing about farming because I only grew up and lived in the city. I had no idea how all the food I ate got to me. I wanted to learn through hands-on experiences and then joined WWOOF.  Above all, I learned a lot while spending time and living with farmers close to nature. The biggest motivation for me is...
WWOOFKorea News ㆍ wwoofkorea ㆍ 2024.05.10 ㆍ Votes 0 ㆍ Views 271
[WWOOF Korea Survey] From Hosts to WWOOFers
From January to March, the WWOOF Korea Secretariat surveyed the experience of WWOOF Korea hosts and WWOOFers to provide a better WWOOF experience. Many of them responded with meaningful opinions on areas for mutual improvement. In this article, we will look into the replies of the hosts. If you intend to WWOOF in the future, their words will be helpful for effective preparation - shall we go check the results together?       What to prepare The secretariat asked the hosts if there were “things WWOOFers can bring for a better experience.” Let’s check out the comments left by the hosts.1. Hat, boots, work clothes, pajamas2. Personal items such as towels, water cups, etc.3. Efficient farming supplies4. Hobby supplies needed to spend leisure time on the farm First of all, the hosts suggest bringing personal tools. Equipment such as boots and work clothes depend on body size, and it would be better to work in clothes that fit oneself. They also mention that it would be a good idea to bring 'hobby supplies to spend leisure time with'. From their observation, WWOOFers who bring their hobby items - painting tools, musical instruments, and so forth - have worthwhile breaks and good WWOOFing experiences. Take these tips into account to experience more fruitful WWOOFing in...
WWOOFKorea News ㆍ wwoofkorea ㆍ 2024.05.08 ㆍ Votes 0 ㆍ Views 380
Farming Workshop
Hands-on Farming Workshop for English-speaking People in Korea WWOOF Korea is convening a workshop where you can learn about Korean traditional farming, its difference from current organic farming and other systems, and meet great new like-minded friends. Time: 9am to 6pm, Sat, Apr 27 Venue: Daeyami, Gunpo, Gyeonggido Facilitator: Rei Yoon A WWOOF Korea host Researched and experimented zero-budget natural farming for over 10 years Actively transferring farming knowledge in Africa and others Head of Ppuri People Power (www.ppuri.co)   Programs How soil gets rich, plant-animal balance and cycle The flourishing agribusiness (chemicals) and the poverty of farmers Genetically modified organisms vs. traditional natural seeds Comparing western organic farming with Korean traditional farming How farming can set people free! Case studies from Africa Hands-on farming   Schedule Morning: Introduction and lecture Lunch: Korean traditional food Afternoon: Hands-on practice on a farm   Tips For English-speakers (all programs conducted in English) Networking for Korea-residing foreigners and other like-minded friends   Others Students will be limited to around 10 people Fee: 50,000 Korean won Application: Google form   Application https://forms.gle/6nRkCbAgqgpazy6C7
WWOOFKorea News ㆍ wwoofkorea ㆍ 2024.04.09 ㆍ Votes 0 ㆍ Views 1222
Freedom for Country Dogs
Support our “Freedom for Country Dogs” Campaign   [Freedom for Country Dogs] In Korea’s countryside, many dogs are tied to a short 1-meter leash most of their lives. We started a campaign aiming to replace that with a leash that attaches to a wire over 3 meters long.  The idea was first conceived when foreign WWOOFers who stayed in Korean farms, saddened by the reality of many dogs being tied to such short leashes, suggested to us that WWOOF Korea play some kind of role in this matter.  We understand that the farmers need to keep the dogs tied to prevent damages to crops or even people. But we also wanted to let the dogs run around more freely. The solution suggested was “a long wire” that would be tied between two trees, so that the shorter leash would be hooked to that long wire. The dog can have a relatively spacious room to move around. This seemed to be the most realistic approach.    Your donation will go a long way. We need your help to purchase the wires and start installing them in one-hundred households that have applied. We will also create and print pamphlets to raise awareness. WWOOF...
WWOOFKorea News ㆍ wwoofkorea ㆍ 2024.04.09 ㆍ Votes 0 ㆍ Views 387
A Look into WWOOF Korea with Statistics
A Look into WWOOF Korea with Statistics As we revamped the WWOOF Korea newsletter, we took the opportunity to analyze statistics about the WWOOFers and hosts who have participated in WWOOF Korea. For WWOOFers, we analyzed gender, age, and nationality based on data from 2023, while for hosts, we looked at region, duration of activity, and age based on current 2024 data.   WWOOFers: Gender distribution First, let's look at the gender distribution of WWOOFers. The ratio of females is 69%, while males make up 31%. This indicates a significantly higher participation of females, a trend observed not only in Korea but also internationally. When organizing group WWOOF events or observing activities of other organizations, it's evident that males have a lower level of social activity participation compared to females. There could be various reasons for this, but we need to collectively brainstorm ways to encourage more male participation in WWOOFing.       Age distribution In terms of age distribution, WWOOFers in their 20s and 30s primarily make up over 70% of participants. This statistic is for both Korean (domestic) and foreign (international) WWOOFers. For Koreans, those in their 20s and 30s make up around 60%. There's a gradual...
WWOOFKorea News ㆍ wwoofkorea ㆍ 2024.04.09 ㆍ Votes 0 ㆍ Views 396
Farm the World!
This story comes from our host Rei Yoon who visited Africa to provide trainings on farming appropriate technology last winter.   Uganda, January 2022. Traffic in downtown Kampala was congested, and children came to the car and begged at every congested section. My friend said that “all” these children came from one area called Karamoja. When I asked why, he said it was a poor land where people would starve to death. He adds that ‘no one’ can solve the Karamoja problem. These children came to the city because they thought it would be better to beg. That’s when I decided to go to Karamoja. Karamoja is a traditional nomadic area, but not a single cow was seen. It is said that all cows are subject to theft, so if you own them, you will be targeted and lose your life. People had no choice but to abandon nomadism and adopt farming. However, the farming methods had several serious flaws. In other words, just changing a few things can dramatically increase productivity. Eradicate poverty through farming!   ​Nigeria, February 2023. Farmers-herders conflict is serious here. This conflict, which arises when nomads' cattle eat farmers' crops, often escalates into a tragedy...
WWOOFKorea News ㆍ wwoofkorea ㆍ 2024.04.09 ㆍ Votes 0 ㆍ Views 471
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