#110 200 Kilometers and Counting: Changing Landscapes and Changing Outlooks

[스티븐스 대사]

May 30, 2011

We are now three days, and one-third of the way through our journey (we have covered almost 260 kilometers so far).  The terrain has been relatively gentle, though we know when we are moving between counties because the hills grow steeper to mark the ancient boundaries from Suwon to Osan to Cheonan to Asan to Yesan to Seosan and to Taean.  The pace of biking allows us to note one of the most important features of the modern Korean landscape:  the close proximity of farming and industry.  As we ride, we see newly planted rice fields and well-tended vegetables gardens bordering rural villages, and then we turn a corner and a huge factory looms ahead.  The city of Asan is a good example, as I discussed with the mayor.  When I lived in Yesan in the 1970s, Onyang was the neighboring small town.  I asked the mayor what happened to Onyang.  He explained that in 1995 the town of Onyang and Asan County were combined, and now represent just that mix of industrial development and agricultural activity that so characterizes much of Korea outside Seoul. 

Agriculture itself has changed.  I remember how labor-intensive rice planting was in the 1970s, a huge effort involving much of the community.  Citizens and students were mobilized to help the farmers plant the rice seedlings, bending over to place them in the flooded fields, one by one.  Today, mechanization has made the process less labor-intensive and more efficient, but as I have seen myself these past several days, it is still an arduous task.  Farmers – men and women alike, some quite elderly, take pallets of rice from a mechanical conveyor belt to plant.  Yes, it’s mechanized, but still requires considerable human labor.  One of our riders from Louisiana told us that rice farming in the U.S. is highly mechanized as well, involving lasers which measure the irrigation levels of the rice fields, and fully automatic harvesters which pluck the rice plant and separate the kernel from the stalk in one motion.  Rice farming may be easier for most people now, but as we are seeing firsthand, it is still very hard work.

Riding by just-planted rice paddies

One area of Korean farming where it really does still take a village, as Secretary Clinton might say, is in pear pollination.  A few years ago I represented the United States at the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, where the United States sought to bring attention to the global pollinator crisis that is the demise of bee populations and other factors affecting pollination.  I learned that the miracle of flowers blooming is a sight to see, but these days nature needs assistance, and as I learned Korean pears especially so – and Shingo pears most especially so.  In April of this year, I visited a pear orchard in Seonghwan-eup where farmer Ji Soon-tae walked me through the intricate process of pollinating Shingo pears.  As the blossoms reach their peak, people have to go by hand and pass a wand over each blossom to get the pistil and stamen to germinate into fruit. 

On Sunday we returned to the pear farm, to see the next stage in the process, pear culling.  Farmer Ji again patiently walked me through this next phase, showing me how to identify which of the just-forming pears were suitable for continued cultivation, and which should be culled, plucked now and cast aside.  Those that make the cut are then wrapped, by hand, to ensure that the pear grows full, round, and without blemish.  It is a labor of love for farmer Ji, but it is labor, and lots of it is needed!

                            I am wrapping up suitable pears that will be exported to the U.S.!

Even so, Farmer Ji and others like him are working hard now with an eye towards the future.  Ji Soon-tae already had identified parts of his orchard destined for export to the United States, and other farmers have a growing interest in exporting to the U.S.  The already low tariff on pear exports to the U.S. will go away under the KORUS FTA, which will boost consumption through a cost advantage, but even more, with the FTA’s passage, interest from American consumers in Korean goods more generally will increase.  I hope this means more American consumers who have not yet experienced the joy of sharing a Korean pear with family and friends will try this delicious fruit.

Do you see the wording in the bag that says ‘For U.S.A.’?

We continue to think about the environment as we ride the country and city roads.  We visited the Seosan Buddha Triad on Monday, which is truly a wonder.  Mae Samjon Bulsang (마애삼존불상), National Treasure No. 84, carved sometime in the mid-sixth century, is one of the best-known examples of rock cliff-carved statues in Korea.  The three Buddha, as we learned, represent the past, present and the future.  The Buddha’s carvers clearly had the environment in mind when they chose the site, only re-discovered in the 1950s.  With verdant tree growth surrounding it, and with a cliff overhang jutting out overhead, the three Buddha have been well protected from the elements, thus their almost pristine condition.  The tour guide explained that there actually were six Buddhas in the carving, but we could find only one additional beyond the initial three.

A wondrous Seosan Buddha Triad

At the end of a long day’s ride, as the headwinds began to pick up, we re-visited the environment theme in dinner and discussion with the Cheollipo Arboretum organizers, and with Cheollipo local officials.  The Arboretum’s founder was Carl Ferris Miller, an American-born naturalized Korean citizen who came to Korea shortly after liberation and made his home in Korea for half a century until his death a few years ago.   The Arboretum is a world-class botanical garden and is open to the public.  I highly recommend a visit, particularly to see the collection of magnolia trees, with over 410 species under cultivation.