Home

The Korea Herald

Latest news

Most Popular

  1. 1

    Contentious grain bill put directly to plenary meeting for vote

    Contentious grain bill put directly to plenary meeting for vote
  2. 2

    Yoon's approval rating plunges to all-time low

    Yoon's approval rating plunges to all-time low
  3. 3

    Will tug-of-war between doctors, government end soon?

    Will tug-of-war between doctors, government end soon?
  4. 4

    Climate impacts set to cut 2050 global GDP by nearly a fifth

    Climate impacts set to cut 2050 global GDP by nearly a fifth
  5. 5

    Trilateral talks acknowledge ‘serious’ slumps of won, yen

    Trilateral talks acknowledge ‘serious’ slumps of won, yen
  1. 6

    [Graphic News] More Koreans say they plan long-distance trips this year

    [Graphic News] More Koreans say they plan long-distance trips this year
  2. 7

    [KH Explains] Hyundai's full hybrid edge to pay off amid slow transition to pure EVs

    [KH Explains] Hyundai's full hybrid edge to pay off amid slow transition to pure EVs
  3. 8

    North Korea removes streetlights along cross-border roads with South

    North Korea removes streetlights along cross-border roads with South
  4. 9

    Russia's denial of entry of S. Korean national unrelated to bilateral ties: Seoul official

    Russia's denial of entry of S. Korean national unrelated to bilateral ties: Seoul official
  5. 10

    Farming households dip below 1m for first time in 2023

    Farming households dip below 1m for first time in 2023
지나쌤

Korea's farmland area down 2.1% in 2016

By KH디지털2

Published : March 24, 2017 - 12:07

    • Link copied

South Korea's farmland area contracted 2.1 percent in 2016 from a year earlier due to construction of buildings and other facilities, government data showed Friday.

The total area of South Korea's rice paddies and fields came to 1.64 million hectares -- about half the size of Maryland -- in 2016, compared with 1.68 million hectares in 2015, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.

(Yonhap) (Yonhap)

South Korea's farmland accounted for 16.4 percent of the country's total land areas in 2016, down from 16.7 percent in the previous year.

The decline in farmland came amid a chronic supply glut of rice and dwindling rice consumption in South Korea.

For decades, rice consumption of South Koreans has been declining steadily due mainly to changes in diet and eating habits.

Per capita, rice consumption reached 62.9 kilograms per year in 2015, down from the 128.1 kilograms tallied in 1985, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. (Yonhap)

More from Headlines