The Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development focuses on research and teaching in the areas of agriculture, rural communities, natural resources, environment, and regional development. The Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development was established in 1997 through the consolidation of the Department of Agricultural Economics and the Department of Rural Adult Education. Due to the liberalization of international agricultural trade and the outset of local self-governing, a new approach has become necessary with regard to the study of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development in Korea. This integration has opened a new horizon and added new variety in interdisciplinary research and teaching, which are both necessary for the investigation of modern socioeconomic problems dealing with areas such as food, natural resources, environment, and balanced regional development.

This department serves as two major fields of study for both undergraduate and graduate students: agricultural economics and regional information. Undergraduate students are required to take Principles of Economics, Introduction to Agricultural Economics and Regional Development, and Economical Mathematics as prerequisites.

After their freshman year, depending on their major, students can take courses either in agricultural economics or regional information. Before taking core courses in agricultural economics, undergraduate students in this major are required to take Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Agricultural Economics, and Quantitative Analysis in Agricultural Economics. Students majoring in regional information are required to take Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Agricultural Information Systems, Regional Development, and Fundamentals of Spatial Economics. Undergraduate students in either of these fields will receive a bachelor’s degree in Economics (majoring in agricultural economics or in regional information). The department offers programs in agricultural economics and regional information for graduate students.