Icheon holds annual rice festival

Rice has been grown in Korea since the Bronze Age. Annual festival offers several attractions, including the re-enactment of a procession to carry rice to the king as well a huge rice cauldron to feed thousands of people. Rice production has dropped in South Korea but slightly increased in North Korea.

Seoul (AsiaNews/Agencies) - This year's Icheon Rice Culture Festival (pictured) offered visitors the opportunity to savour the nation's best rice, as well as experience the area’s ancient agricultural traditions.

Icheon is located some 80 kilometres south of the capital Seoul, in Gyeonggi province. Each year, the City organises a festival dedicated to the production and preparation of rice.

One of the festival’s main attractions is the re-enactment of a procession that in the past saw rice brought to Hanseong (Seoul’s old name) to be presented to the king. Another one is a huge rice cauldron that can feed thousands of people.

Historians say that rice farming in Korea dates back to the Bronze Age and that an increase in yields of the grain following the Three Kingdoms (57 B.C.-A.D. 668) helped it become a main staple for Koreans.

Icheon enjoys natural surroundings appropriate for the growth of rice, coupled with a good proportion of clay and sand mixes in paddies that contribute to the rice absorbing nutrients.

Local rice was highly thought of under the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) so that it used to be served to the dynasty's kings.

South Korea's rice production in 2017 fell to its lowest level in the last 40 years, partly due to the government's efforts to counter excess supply.

Last year, the country's rice production stood at 3.97 million tonnes, down 5.3 per cent compared to the 4.2 million produced in 2016.

Conversely, North Korea's rice production in the fall of this year is expected to be slightly higher from last year, to reach about 1.6 million tonnes.

However, a report issued by the US Department of Agriculture also forecast that North Korea will import about 80,000 tons of rice by year's end.

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• icheon
• rice festival
• production