Thursday was "Rice Day," organized by the Korea Consumers' Cooperative (Han'guk Saenghyeop Yeondae) and other civic groups. Consumer groups held street campaigns in Seoul and other cities around the country calling for people to "defend our rice." It is now inevitable that imported rice will be sold on the market, so it would be no exaggeration to say that whether rice farming, the last stronghold of Korean agriculture, will be saved or not depends on the work of consumers. That's why it's nice to hear civic groups speaking up.
It is highly likely that the bill to authorize opening the rice market is going to be ratified in the new ordinary session of the National Assembly. That means that imported rice is going to be on the market within the end of the year. This year it will only be 10 percent of the required imports and 0.5 percent of the rice consumed domestically, but the amount of imported rice in circulation is going to gradually rise. Imported rice is not of poor quality compared to Korean rice and it is inexpensive, too, so there are clearly going to be places that are tempted to use imported rice, places like industrial kitchens and cafeterias.
Korean rice farmers need to work to increase the quality of Korean rice and reduce production costs. Consumers, for their part, have a reason to eat Korean rice. Rice farming does not stop at being just a source of income for farmers. There are many additional effects such as flood prevention, oxygen production, water purification, erosion prevention, and more. Everyone in the country enjoys the benefits without paying anything for them, and if rice farming is destroyed it will actually end up costing the country.
Civic groups are collecting signatures from people who pledge to eat Korean rice. They are also collecting W1,000 from people who sign their petition for children too poor to enjoy regular meals. As long as people seek a way there is a way. On October 1 a walkathon leaves, together with an oxcart, from Ttangkkeut Village in South Jeolla's Haenam and is scheduled to arrive in Seoul on October 30 to become a "Meeting of 10,000 Consumers." We hope the event is not a long and painful journey, but rather a celebration where people where rice producers and consumers share hope.
The Hankyoreh, 2 September 2005.
[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]
[Editorial] Consumers Left to Defend Korean Rice |
