korean unification studies

I recently had a conversation with a fellow that had worked for the WFP in North Korea. She made an interesting point. Apparently, in North Korea there is a trend in the use of ‘organic’ agriculture in smaller, individual plots – and this was supported by state propaganda! As of yet I haven’t seen any North Korean products appear in America’s better known organic guides!

Now the use of ‘organic’ forming techniques is nothing new. Farmers around the world have for years sought to influence and even control nature to improve agricultural output. However, North Korea long relied upon the strength of its industry (and its socialist block partners’ largesses) to make agriculture more productive. With the collapse of industry and the end of socialist bloc friendship prices, there was an inevitable crash in agricultural productivity and the resultant food shortages.

A return to ‘organic’ style agricultural practices, such as encouraging one type of insect to control another type, or the use of extracts from one type of plant to control the growth of another or the spread of insects would be expected if there was a shortage of agricultural inputs. But this turn to organic methods has also been trumpeted in state propaganda!

This article entitled “Bio-Organics Fertlizers Developed” dates back to 2006:

Pyongyang, December 18 (KCNA) — Varieties of bio-fertilizers useful for protecting ecological environment and for increasing grain production have been recently developed in the DPRK. Among them is a eurytropic multi-element compound fertilizer made with the help of technologies of lignite (or peat) treatment, rural organic substance treatment and surface chemistry.

The fertilizer supplies nutritive elements to crop seeds to raise sprouting rate and accelerates root growth to absorb much more water and nutritive elements, thus quickening the growth of stem and leaves as well as raising the resisting power to damage from cold weather, moisture and drought.

It, with its strong sterilizing power, increases soil corrosive substances and improves ventilation and water penetration and retention of the earth. An organic fertilizer with available microorganism has been newly developed, too. It controls microorganisms harmful to crops and increases available ones. The organic fertilizer, which is applicable to most of the crops, does not destroy the ecological environment and is safe in application.

There are many more just like it, with even more on the less accessible state TV broadcasts that can be accessed in Japan.

Organic agriculture and the concept of organic food is largely a western concept. Organic agriculture and the whole organic food industry, usually under the heading “wellbeing food” in South Korea is a mark of a society that has more than enough – a society that can afford to go back to less efficient forms of agricultural production.

Interestingly, the organic theme in North Korea has been adapted and used with both a domestic theme “You can grow stuff using less external inputs” and with an external theme “we can provide you rich westerners with mass produced organic materials”. This shows KCNA writers have a significant degree of exposure to western media and/or internet. It may not be too soon before we do see them appear in America’s organic guide or the International Federation of Organic Movements (IFOAM)?