'King's Icheon Rice' Grand Prize Winner in the Rice Category of This Year's Brand Awards

Mayor Kim Kyung-hee "Focus on Policies for Farmers"

Gyeonggi-do Icheon City announced on the 3rd that its rice brand, 'Imgeumnompyo Icheon Rice,' won the Grand Prize in the rice category at the '2024 Brand of the Year Awards' held at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul.

Hosted by the Korea Consumer Brand Committee and the Korea Consumer Forum, the 'Brand of the Year Awards' is an event where consumers directly participate in voting to decide the winners in each category.

Kim Kyung-hee (sixth from the left), Mayor of Icheon, is celebrating the Grand Prize in the rice category with employees at the Brand of the Year Awards ceremony held at the Shilla Hotel.
[Photo by Icheon City]

'Imgeumnompyo Icheon Rice' is a brand of Icheon rice, which was famous for being presented to the kings during the Joseon Dynasty. The city is focusing on expanding eco-friendly farming methods and improving agricultural infrastructure to strengthen rice competitiveness with the goal of sustainable agriculture. In particular, quality control is enhanced through monthly inspections of 463 types of residual pesticides, DNA tests, and component and quality inspections.

Brand promotion is also notable. To this end, the city provides 'Imgeumnompyo Icheon Rice' as the official rice supplier for the national soccer team through sponsorship of the Korea Football Association, and renamed the Icheon Rest Area on the Jungbu Expressway as the 'Icheon Rice Rest Area.'

Expansion into overseas markets is also underway. Since the inauguration of Mayor Kim Kyung-hee in the 8th term, exports to the United States, Malaysia, and other countries have been achieved for three consecutive years. Recently, the city has been actively developing rice-processed products such as desserts, donuts, scorched rice, and ice cream to expand demand and increase farmers' income.

Mayor Kim said in her acceptance speech, "This award demonstrates the status of Imgeumnompyo Icheon Rice as Korea's representative rice," adding, "We will continue to focus more on policies for farmers."

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