Is Rice Fully Self-Sufficient? Need for Variety Development Like Wine and Coffee

The discovery of 'Goyang Gawaji rice seeds,' known as the first cultivated rice seeds on the Korean Peninsula, suggests that the history of rice cultivation in Korea dates back over 5,000 years to the Neolithic era. It is believed that from the Three Kingdoms period, people began eating rice in the form of cooked rice as we do today, but due to insufficient rice production, it was consumed only by the wealthy. Even through the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties up until the 1960s, rice remained a precious food staple.

To increase the insufficient rice production, breeding rice varieties with high yields was essential. In Korea, rice breeding for self-sufficiency began in earnest in 1964 with the dispatch of the late Dr. Heo Mun-hoe from the Rural Development Administration to the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines. Starting with the distribution of the high-yield variety 'Tongil' rice, a hybrid of Indica and Japonica species, to farms in the early 1970s, 25 varieties spread nationwide. In 1977, Korea recorded the world's highest rice yield per unit area and declared complete rice self-sufficiency.

After achieving rice self-sufficiency, the annual per capita rice consumption remained around 130kg until the mid-1980s. However, due to rapid industrialization, urbanization, and increased national income, it fell below 100kg in the late 1990s and has continued to decline. Additionally, with the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995, agricultural markets were opened, and rice imports for cooking purposes began.

Amid decreasing consumption and an influx of imported rice, Korean rice sought new breakthroughs. The development of various rice varieties with sticky texture and excellent taste began to gain momentum. As of last year, 298 rice varieties developed by the Rural Development Administration have been registered for cooking and specialty rice. Among them, 18 varieties with outstanding taste and cultivation safety have been classified as top-quality varieties, with efforts made to expand their cultivation. The 'Top Rice Project' led by the Rural Development Administration is a good example. This project lowered the protein content of rice and increased the proportion of perfect grains to over 95%. Foreign varieties, such as Akibare and Koshihikari, which account for more than 10% of cultivation, have also begun to be replaced with excellent domestic varieties like 'Samgwang,' 'Jinsumi,' 'Alchanmi,' 'Haedeul,' and 'Chamdream.' Privately bred varieties such as 'Golden Queen No. 3' and 'Jinsang' are also being promoted as regional brands.

Alongside this, unified cultivation and management through quality rice production and distribution hub complexes are necessary. Eleven complexes will be focused on for development. Rice quality must also be uniform. A high-level rice production and distribution system is being established in connection with regional RPCs equipped with distribution systems.

Like coffee or wine, emphasizing taste differences by variety and creating value through quality enhancement can help overcome the crisis caused by declining rice consumption. Of course, appropriate production and supply-demand stabilization to avoid oversupply are fundamental, and efforts to increase the self-sufficiency rate of food crops other than rice should also be pursued simultaneously. Just as the 'Tongil' rice variety built a golden tower of rice self-sufficiency in the past, it is hoped that top-quality rice varieties will raise the value of staple foods and become a driving force for food security.

Lee Cheon-il, Director of Rural Support Bureau, Rural Development Administration

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.