The Direct Payment Program for Rural Landscape Conservation (DPPRLC), introduced by the Korean government, currently offers subsidies to rural villages to encourage the growing of flower crops or wild flowers instead of common grain. However, in many of these villages, major landscape elements like walls and roofs of houses are built with cheap, urban materials, and kept in poor condition. This is a poor reflection of the DPPRLC goal to improve the aesthetic of korean rural landscape. This study surveyed and analyzed traditional style walls and roofs in ten selected villages taking part in the DPPRLC program. Villagers were interviewed for a proposed direct payment program for building and maintaining traditional walls and roofs. Major findings are: First, more than 86% of residents are willing to build and maintain traditional walls if subsidies are given. They would like to be reimbursed 75% to 100% of construction and maintenance costs. Second, about 64% of residents would be willing to build and maintain traditional roofs with the subsidies. They also would like to receive 75% to 100% of construction and maintenance costs. The policy implication of this study is that extending the DPPRLC program to include walls and roofs in rural villages will make rural landscape more attractive.

The direct payment program for rural landscape conservation in practice since 2005. Recently it is the policy or plan of direct payment for rural landscape conservation attracts great interests as they may help rural people who are very disadvantaged. This paper presents the status of the direct payment program for landscape conservation in rural area and proposed improvements to the program as following; 1) to diversify the plant species, 2) to include other rural elements than plants, 3) to enlarge the areas of crop plantation, 4) to simplify and clarify application process. We sampled two pilot programs, one of spring flower crop and the other of autumn flower crop, and questionnaire surveyed visitors, local government officers and farmers in order to find problems and suggest improvements.