Agriculture
Korea has climatic and geographic characteristics of a monsoon climate with
a marked concentration of rainfalls in summer and a soil composition that retains
water very well. Due to such characteristics, rice cultivation has been a long
tradition in Korea. During the late 20th century, farmers began to diversify
their farming management to include the cultivation of high value-added vegetables,
fruits, livestock, and flowers.
The share of agriculture and forestry among the entire industries gradually
decreased to 4.0 percent of GNI as of 2001; farming population numbered four
million, or 8.3 percent of the total population. Although the share of agriculture
itself is very meager, that of agriculture-related industries, such as the input
industry - mainly fertilizers and agricultural chemicals - distribution and
transportation industry, food-processing industry and food service industry
reaches 14 percent.
The launch of the WTO in 1995 has quickly transformed the farming environment
by rapidly liberalizing the agricultural market and constantly dragging down
the price of agricultural products. Farmers thus became anxious and the past
agricultural policy which focused on production increase seemed to have reached
its limits. So today, Korea's agricultural policy focuses on strengthening the
competitiveness through economy of scale and producing safe and high quality
products. On top of that, Korea plans to transform rural villages into a space
where people can engage in diverse industrial activities and enjoy lives.
Rice Production
Korea's agriculture and its agricultural policies are centered on rice. Rice
is often considered a political commodity: it is Korea's staple food and about
80 percent of all farms cultivate rice. Maintaining a high rice self-sufficiency
ratio has always been an important policy objective in modern Korean history.
Korea's rice consumption depends heavily on domestic production. The Uruguay
Round Agreement requires the implementation of a Minimum Market Access of 1
to 4 percent of the total consumption of rice.
Rice cultivating areas have increased significantly way from 1970 to 1990, but
have decreased to 1,083,000 ha (hectare) in 2001. Nevertheless, the production
amount per ha increased, helping to maintain the real average rice production
amount. From 1996, production increased every year thanks to a continuous good
yield. In 2001, the rice production amount per ha reached 5.16 tons.
With the 2004 WTO negotiations on rice approaching, the rice industry is experiencing
constant changes both in supply and demand. The government is preparing short-
and long-term measures to cope with changing conditions and establish a new
food policy for the future.
| Grain Production in 2001 |
| Unit |
Total Production
1,000 tons |
Cultivated Area
1,000 ha |
Yields/100ha
kg |
| Total |
6,200 |
1,334 |
- |
| Rice |
5,515 |
1,083 |
516 |
| Barley and Wheat |
272 |
92 |
294 |
| Soybeans |
140 |
99 |
141 |
| Potatoes |
205 |
37 |
554 |
| Miscellaneous |
68 |
23 |
296 |
|
| Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry |
Production of Wheat, Barley and Other Crops
The production of barley, wheat, soybean and other crops has continuously decreased
due to relatively lower profitability and labor constraints. Korea meets most
of its demand for wheat, soybean and feed grains through imports from the international
market.
The production of barley and wheat stood at 271,000 tons in 2001. Soybean and
potato production also decreased slightly in 2001, amounting to 140,000 tons,
from 205,000 tons in the previous year. Between 1965 and 2001, per ha yields
of barley increased from 1.7 tons to 2.9 tons. In the same period, soybean and
corn yields have shown remarkable increases, from 0.57 tons and 0.81 tons to
1.50 tons and 4.03 tons, respectively. But their cultivation areas have been
reduced continuously.
Fruit Production
The 2001 total fruit production was slightly reduced compared to 2000. Pear
and mandarin orange productions are increasing. In contrast, apple, peach and
grape productions declined.
Fruit farming in Korea is characterized by small-scale land area per orchard.
Eighty-six percent of the total fruit farms have less than one ha of land. Orchards
are geographically scattered around the country and subject to part-time operation,
along with other crops, such as rice.
Gyeongsangbuk-do produces about 60 percent of Korea's apple. Pear
production is scattered throughout Gyeonggi-do and Chungcheongnam-do.
About 40 percent of Korea's grapes is produced in Gyeongsangbuk-do.
Mandarin orange or tangerine is produced exclusively in Jeju-do, a sub-tropical
island on the southern most part of Korea.
Korea exports fruits to other countries: about 11,455 tons of pears and 3,733
tons of apples were exported in 2001. Major export markets for pears are the
United States, Canada, Taiwan and Indonesia. Apples are exported to Taiwan,
Singapore and Japan. About 4,660 tons of tangerines are exported to the United
States, Japan and other countries.
About 11 million tons of vegetables were produced in 2001, slightly up from
the previous year. Korea maintains self-sufficiency in most vegetable products.
Among them, Chinese cabbage and radish are important items since they are main
ingredients for kimchi - the Korean style pickled side dish. Other vegetables
include red pepper, garlic and onion. The production of garlic and onion shows
substantial fluctuations each year.
The share of vegetables among the total agricultural production has been increasing.
Increasing vegetables production is driven by higher income and consumer demand.
Vegetable production in green houses is also increasing. Watermelon and cucumber
are the major crops grown in house facilities.
| Fruits Production |
| (unit : 1,000 M/T) |
| |
Total |
Apple |
Pear |
Peach |
Tangerine |
Grape |
Others |
| 1980 |
833 |
410 |
60 |
89 |
16 |
157 |
56 |
| 1990 |
1,766 |
629 |
159 |
115 |
493 |
131 |
239 |
| 1995 |
2,300 |
716 |
178 |
130 |
615 |
316 |
345 |
| 2000 |
2,429 |
489 |
324 |
170 |
563 |
476 |
406 |
| 2001 |
2,488 |
404 |
417 |
166 |
645 |
454 |
402 |
|
| Source : Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry |
| Vegetable Production |
| (unit : 1,000 M/T) |
| |
Total |
Chinese cabbage |
Radish |
Red pepper |
Garlic |
Onion |
Others |
| 1980 |
7,676 |
3,158 |
2,024 |
125 |
253 |
275 |
1,841 |
| 1990 |
8,677 |
3,373 |
1,761 |
177 |
417 |
407 |
2,856 |
| 1995 |
9,686 |
2,885 |
1,435 |
193 |
462 |
975 |
3,736 |
| 2000 |
11,281 |
3,149 |
1,759 |
194 |
474 |
878 |
4,827 |
| 2001 |
11,310 |
3,041 |
1,732 |
180 |
406 |
1,074 |
4,877 |
|
| Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry |
Livestock and Poultry
Livestock industry is the second largest source of farm income, following rice,
the most important staple in Korea. Due to the increasing consumer demand for
livestock products, along with growing disposable income, livestock industry
has grown continuously.
The number of cattle decreased sharply from 3,289,000 heads in 1997 to 1,954,000
heads in 2001. The total cattle heads consist of 1,405,000 Korean beef cattle
and 548,000 dairy cattle. The number of pigs in 2001 reached around 8.7 million,
up by 15.6 percent from 1998. The number of chicken in 2001 amounted to 102
million heads, up from 86 million heads in 1998.
The number of livestock farms is decreasing while the operation scale shows
gradual expansion. The total number of farms decreased to 469,000 in 2001 from
2,161,000 in 1980.
Consumption of livestock products increased substantially due to increasing
demand for protein-rich diet. Beef consumption in 2001 was 384,057 tons. The
total pork and chicken consumption in 2001 were 807,421 tons and 350,300 tons,
respectively. The consumption of pork and chicken has been steadily increasing.
Milk consumption in 2001 stood at 3,026,216 tons.
In order to develop the livestock sector as a stable, competitive industry,
the government has focused on the economy of scale, full utilization of endowed
resources, and improvement of marketing structure.
| Number of Livestock and Poultry |
| (unit : 1,000 heads) |
| |
Korean Beef Cattle |
Dairy Cattle |
Hogs |
Chickens |
| 1980 |
1,361 |
180 |
1,784 |
40,130 |
| 1990 |
1,622 |
504 |
4,528 |
74,463 |
| 1995 |
2,594 |
553 |
6,461 |
85,800 |
| 2000 |
1,590 |
544 |
8,214 |
102,547 |
| 2001 |
1,406 |
548 |
8,720 |
102,393 |
|
| Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry |
Forestry
Besides their economic value as a major natural resource, forests have many
functions such as preventing floods and landslides, providing space for outdoor
recreation and conserving biological diversity. Furthermore, forests reduce
the level of greenhouse gases, a worldwide concern, by absorbing atmospheric
carbon through photosynthesis. Forests also function as a cultural heritage
providing educational places for the public.
As of 2001, South Korea's forest land covers 6.4 million hectares, representing
over 60 percent of the total land area. However, the forest land per capital
is only 0.2 hectares. Forest lands are classified into national, public and
private forests depending on the ownership and into reserve and semi-reserve
forests according to the mode of utilization. National forests which are managed
by the central government take up about 22 percent of the total forest areas
in South Korea. Public forests owned by local governments account for about
8 percent, and the rest are privately owned.
The total stock volume in 2001 reached 428 million cubic meters, and the average
stock volume per ha was estimated at 67 cubic meters. The most representative
forest in Korea is the coniferous forest. Coniferous forests account for 42
percent of the total forest land, while the broad-leaved, mixed and other forests
constitute 26 percent, 30 percent and 2 percent, respectively. The major tree
species of Korea's forests are red pine, Korean white pine, larch and oak.
Forest Management
In the 19th century, Korean forests were rich. However, these forests were totally
destroyed by liberal and illegal felling for construction and fuel throughout
the chaotic periods of the Japanese occupation (1910-1945) and the Korean War
(1950-1953). The average stock volume per ha in 1960 was only 10.6 cubic meters.
The Forest Law was enacted in 1961 to rehabilitate and manage forest resources.
Pursuant to this law, the Korea Forest Service should set up a national plan
every 10 years to establish and manage forest resources and local governments
should set up their own forest plans on the basis of the national forest plan.
So far, the government completed three national forest plans (1973-78, 1979-87,
and 1988-97). The fourth national forest plan (1998-2007) is now underway.
Due to the success of forest plans, nearly 100 percent of Korea's damaged forests
have been fully restored and are even producing commercial yields. The total
reforestation area is 4.0 million hectares, with the number of seedlings set
at about 11,050 million. Apart from these planting zones, the remaining area
is about 2.5 million ha, which represents 39 percent of the total forest area.
The goal of the First Forest Plan enacted in 1973 was to establish nearly one
million ha of commercial forests. These plans (1973-78, 1979-87), however, were
completed earlier than expected. The Third Plan began in 1988 and was successfully
completed in 1997. The aim of this plan was to achieve a balance between the
economic exploitation of forest lands and their recreational value.
Reforestation and erosion control projects were completed within a relatively
short period of time. They were based, by a large degree, upon the strong traditional
belief that the government is ultimately responsible for the management of forest
and water resources in Korea. Thus, significant investment in the nation's forests
was made since the 1970s as part of the National Development Plan under President
Park Chung-hee. During the 1970s, the rehabilitation of forest land and forest
protection activities were a major part of the New Community Movement (Saemaeul
Undong). The driving forces of these activities were the forest association
and its village sub-units called "sallimgye." The forestry association was reformed
under the title of Forestry Cooperatives in 1993.
International organizations like the FAO and the WRI have evaluated Korea's
reforestation programs as one of the most successful forest projects in the
world. However, they are still relatively unproductive because 70 percent of
Korea's forests are under 30 years old.
Forest Industry and Products
Since the 1960s, when Korea began economic development, plywood and sawnwood
industries have also developed rapidly and played a leading role in supporting
the domestic economy by supplying stable sources of wood products for construction
and housing from the late 1960s to the early 1980s.
From the 1980s onward, Korean timber industries have been sluggish due to restrictions
of log exports by tropical countries, the increase of domestic labor costs and
the development of timber substitution technology. As a result, large percentage
of imported forest products were being used for domestic consumption.
The volume of imported logs was about 7.1 million cubic meters in 2001, and
the total value of imported forest products was US$ 1.7 billion. The self-sufficiency
ratio of timber was under six percent.
Korea now imports log and forest products from more than 20 countries. China,
Indonesia, New Zealand, Malaysia, The United States, Russia and Australia are
its main suppliers. To ensure the stable supply of logs, and especially pulp
chips among others, private companies have already launched forest projects
in New Zealand, Australia, Vietnam and China.
Some Korean forest products, however, are continuously being exported. The pine
mushroom and chestnut constitute the bulk of Korea's exported forest products.
The pine mushroom, in particular, is well known abroad for its delightful fragrance
and taste. The total amount of exported forest products was roughly US$ 340
million in 1997, and US$ 210 million in 2001.
The main markets are Japan, China, the United States, and Hongkong. Exports
to these four countries accounted for 92 percent of the total export value in
2001.
Korea imports mainly timber and primarily processed timber products such as
log, swanwood, plywood and fiberboard. The import value of these four items
accounted for 65 percent of the total in 2001. The main exporting countries
were China, Indonesia, New Zealand, Malaysia and the United States.
Since Korea depends most of its timber supply on foreign resources, the Korea
Forest Service has been actively initiating overseas plantation and development
to secure stable long-term supply of timber resources.
Overseas forest development project started in Indonesia in 1968. At present,
private enterprises are operating in Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, China,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and others.
Forest Culture and Outdoor Recreation
In the 1950s, Korea was a poor developing country, with its forest decimated
by war. Since the 1980s, however, it has achieved one of the most successful
reforestation programs within the developing world. Along with Korea's economic
growth, its forest management program can be considered one of the barometers
that measure the nation's social maturity. To further encourage these environmental
concerns, as well as increase the Korean people's understanding of the necessity
of sustainable forests, the government has established a total of 67 national
and public recreational forests as part of its Third Forest Plan. The total
area of recreational forests in Korea is about 117 thousand hectares and more
than 26 million people have visited them since they were established. The number
of visitors has also gradually increased each year. Smaller forests are also
being developed near urban areas.
