Development and Agribusiness in South Korea

The Republic of Korea or South Korea approved its latest and current constitution in 1987. After being liberated from the Japanese occupation that lasted through 1945, the Korean peninsula was occupied by the victors of World War II, specifically the United States and the Soviet Union. In what turned out to be one of the most interesting political experiments of the 20th century (similar to the partition of Germany), the north of the Korean peninsula was managed directly by the Soviet Union, while the south was developed by the United States.

Development and Agribusiness in South Korea

Today, with a total of 99.720 square kilometers, South Korea is slightly smaller than the state of Pennsylvania. Located in the Asia Pacific region, the country is dominated by hills and mountains as well as wide coastal plains along its 2.413 kilometers of coastline. Likewise, South Korea has a temperate seasonal climate. Currently, the country has a total population of approximately 51.2 million citizens, with an average age of 42 years. Furthermore, about 82% of South Korea’s population lives in an urban setting, notably the capital city of Seoul with some 10 million inhabitants.

The country’s national annual gross domestic product (GDP) is US$2 trillion (PPP) and has experienced an economic growth of over 2.7% in recent years. The South Korean economy is divided into 3% agriculture, 39% manufacturing, and 58% services. Meanwhile, the national labor force is divided into 5% working in the agriculture industry, 25% working in the industrial sector, and 70% working in services. Similarly, the national agriculture industry utilizes about 18% of the national territory, while another 64% is forested. In terms of natural resources, South Korea has coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, and a large hydropower potential. Within manufacturing, the national industry is focused on electronics, telecommunications, automobile production, chemicals, shipbuilding, and steel. Simultaneously, the country’s agricultural industry has as main products rice, root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit, cattle, pigs, chickens, milk, eggs, and fish.

In terms of trade, South Korea is the world’s fifth largest export economy. During 2016, the country imported US$398 billion worth of goods and exported US$515 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of US$117 billion. Furthermore, that same year, South Korea’s main export, representing 13% or US$68.3 billion of the country’s total, were integrated circuits. On the other hand, the country’s main import, representing 10% or US$41 billion of all international purchases, was crude petroleum. Meanwhile, South Korea’s main trading partners are China, Japan, the United States, the European Union, and Vietnam.

In recent years, the average per capita protein intake of animal origin amongst the South Korean population has been 46 grams daily. Simultaneously, land distribution and output in the country have evolved throughout the last half century. Back in 1961, permanent pastures and meadows in South Korea covered 18.000 hectares, while arable land covered 2 million hectares and permanent crops covered 62.000 hectares. More recently, by 2016, permanent pastures and meadows had increased to cover 56.800 hectares, while arable land represented 1.42 million hectares and permanent crops accounted for 223.000 hectares.

(Read more about World Habitat Day and Sustainable Development)