Chilgok County Officially Launches 'Premium Chilgok Grandma Rice'

"Rice Instead of Bacchus"
Single-Meal Small Packs and Comprehensive DNA Testing
Changing Consumption Patterns with Premium Small-Pack Rice

Chilgok County in North Gyeongsang Province is introducing a new way to buy, eat, and gift rice by launching premium rice in small packs that can be opened and used one at a time, similar to soy milk packs.

On November 26, Chilgok County officially launched the 'Premium Chilgok Grandma Rice.'

This product is vacuum-packed in single-meal portions (300g), allowing consumers to carry it like a beverage pack. By simply cutting along the slit and pouring it into a rice cooker, it is ready to use.

This is being recognized as a 'new way to consume rice' tailored to the lifestyle patterns of one- and two-person households.

The starting point for developing this product can be traced back to March of this year in Niigata Prefecture, Japan.

Through local benchmarking, Chilgok County, the local agricultural cooperative, and the Agricultural Technology Center concluded that 'rice should also adapt to different lifestyles.'

Immediately after returning to Korea, they established a premium production complex involving 40 farms (20 hectares).

After creating the complex, the biggest challenge was deciding 'which variety to use for the premium product.' After reviewing several varieties, they ultimately selected 'Miho Rice,' a hybrid that combines the stickiness of glutinous rice with the fluffiness of non-glutinous rice.

Miho Rice is highly regarded for its glossy appearance and elasticity, resulting in excellent overall taste. The county adopted it as the base variety for the premium brand.

All products in the 'Premium Chilgok Grandma Rice' small-pack gift set officially launched by Chilgok County, Gyeongbuk, are displayed. Vacuum-sealed small packs in 300g and 1kg units, along with gift packages, are exhibited together. / Photo by Chilgok County Office

Quality control has been strengthened to the 'highest national standard.' Chilgok County analyzes the DNA of all rice supplied by participating farms to ensure 100% varietal purity, and also tests protein content (with a standard of 6.0% or less for the 'S' grade) and the percentage of whole grains. Farms that do not meet the criteria are immediately excluded. Instead of simple sample testing, only rice that passes a comprehensive analysis is included in the brand.

An official from the Agricultural Technology Center stated, "Chilgok County is the only local government that applies DNA testing to all farms." In fact, this year's Premium Chilgok Grandma Rice is reported to have achieved top grades in both varietal purity and protein content.

The packaging system has also been newly established. A vacuum packaging line capable of producing 800 packs per hour was installed at the Packaging Technology Research Center of Gyeongbuk Science University’s RISE Project Group and is shared with local farms. Premium Chilgok Grandma Rice is packaged here in standardized 300g and 1kg units. The county plans to use this system to support the commercialization of small-pack products for ordinary farms in the future.

This small-pack strategy is also leading to changes in gift-giving culture.

The county aims to replace the tradition of bringing Bacchus or beverage sets as gifts when visiting someone in the hospital or during holidays with a new culture of gifting premium rice that can be used one pack at a time. Each pack serves three people, and a gift set containing 20 packs provides a month's worth of food.

Premium Chilgok Grandma Rice will first be sold at the local Nonghyup Hanaro Mart in Chilgok County and at the Chilgok rest area on the Gyeongbuk Expressway.

Chilgok County Governor Kim Jaeuk stated, "Now, rice must also meet the demands of the times. We will create a new rice culture that aligns with the trend of consuming in smaller quantities, with freshness, and as needed. Chilgok will become the first example of changing the rice consumption paradigm."

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