This article aims to draw up suggestions on conditions for participatory rural development in Korea. Rural development policies since 2000 have emphasized local community participation. However obstacles are identifed such as the troubled circumstances in which local communities face and the lack of governments’ understanding over locality in implementing participatory rural development. Endogenous self-organizations, local participation, capacitation and empowerment, local governance through partnership are important conditions to be met during the participatory development projects. These are realized not just by the aggregation of separate individuals but by linking them together and interdependent.