The number of South Koreans moving away from cities to rural areas reached a record high last year, although fewer people were freshly taking up farming as their profession, a government tally showed Thursday.

In 2013, the number of urban households moving to provincial regions jumped 20 percent on-year to a new high of 32,424, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

This growth may represent a reverse in the long-witnessed trend of rural to urban migration throughout the country’s industrialization period, the ministry said.

The number of households migrating from urban areas to farming villages was 880 in 2001. The number reached 10,503 in 2011.

The government has often shown concerns that the persistent outflow of people, especially the young, from rural areas will add to the growing problems of having an aging population, which in turn may seriously undermine the overall competitiveness of the farming industry. (Yonhap)