Yeosu City Focuses on Developing 'Oksusu' as a Representative Agricultural Specialty Product

200 Million KRW Invested This Year for Processed Product Development and Commercialization to Lay the Foundation for Rural Convergence Industry
Jeonnam Province Selected for the '2021 Local Industry Promotion Contest' to Take a New Leap Forward

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Hyung-kwon] Yeosu City (Mayor Kwon Oh-bong) is focusing on cultivating ‘corn’ as a new representative local agricultural specialty to continue the fame of ‘Dolsan Gat’ and ‘Geomundo Sea Breeze Mugwort.’

The corn cultivation area in Yeosu City is 233 hectares, accounting for the largest 15% in Jeollanam-do Province. It can be harvested more than a month earlier than other regions such as Gangwon-do, and it is possible to cultivate two crops year-round.

Despite these optimal climatic conditions, cultivation has remained limited to young corn, and after the peak corn shipment period in July, price competitiveness declines, highlighting the need for rural convergence industry development such as processed product development.

Accordingly, this year the city is investing 200 million KRW of its own budget to promote projects focusing on contract cultivation and purchase between farmers and processing companies, as well as the development of differentiated processed products from other regions. The developed corn products have been supplied to school meals since April.

In particular, based on its own projects, Yeosu was selected for the Jeollanam-do Province’s local industry promotion project competition, and from next year for two years, 2 billion KRW will be invested in corn product, brand, and design development, processing facility construction, and promotional marketing. Products such as corn noodles, corn, sauces, syrup, premixes, snacks, and tea will be produced and distributed through Non-GMO school meals, local food direct stores, and online channels.

Kim Nam-bin, representative of the Hwayang Seochon Corn Farming Group, said, “This year, processing companies purchased at high prices, which greatly helped stabilize sales channels and increase income,” adding, “Next year, we plan to expand the contract cultivation area for corn.”

A city official said, “We will do our best to realize the rural convergence industrialization of corn centered on farmers so that Yeosu can grow into a southern regional hub for the corn industry.”

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