COUNTRY
PROFILE - REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Republic
of Korea is a land-mass in Eastern Asia having a geographical area of
99373 sq. km. with a population of about 46 million. Most of South Korea
receives a precipitation of 75-130 centimetres yearly. The official language
of Republic of Korea is Korean. The Korean Peninsula extends southward
from northeastern. It is about 1080 kilometres long and at its widest
point, about 515 kilometres wide. Korea’s coastline measures 2388 kilometre.
Seoul is the capital of the Republic of Korea and is its largest city.
Population
The population
of Republic of Korea as of 1997 is about 46 million, with a growth rate
of 0.98%, population density of 463 persons per km2, birth rate of 1.6
per female and death rate of 5.4(male 6, female 4.7) per 1,000 persons.
The male-female ratio is 101.5%.
The farm
population consists of 4.47 million (male 2.15 million: female 2.32 million)
which is 9.7% of total population.
Land resources
and land use
The Republic
of Korea had 99,373 km2 of national land in 1977, which included 64,413
km2 (64.8%) of forest, 19,235 km2 (19.4%) of cultivated land, 2,822 km2
(2.8%) of rivers and 12,903km2 of other types (13%). The average amount
of cultivated land per capita was 0.042 ha and the average farm household
had 1.336 ha including 0.808 ha of rice paddy and 0.528 ha of upland.
The mountainous forest areas cover about two-thirds of the national land.
The cultivated land is mainly composed of 7,607 km2 of uplands and 11,628
km2 of paddy fields. The uplands comprised 473 km2 of orchards and 511
km2 of pastures. The cultivated land and forest have been shown to bear
a sharp decreasing trend since the 1980s by being converted into roads,
houses, industrial sites and other purposes.
The cultivated
land is utilized to grow food crops (1,314 thousand ha), vegetables (285
thousand ha), oil and cash crops (108 thousand ha), orchards (174 thousand
ha), green house crops (92 thousand ha), some permanent crops (25 thousand
ha), and other products (98 thousand ha).
A total of
2,096 thousand ha of yearly land use indicates a 107.8% land use rate
by growing two or three crops on some parts of the cultivated land. The
cultivated areas for food crops cover rice (1,052 thousand ha), barley
and wheat (70 thousand ha), miscellaneous grains (30 thousand ha), pulses
(122 thousand ha) and potatoes (40 thousand ha).
Land
As a result
of concentrated efforts in agricultural water resource development by
Korean Government, 882,000 ha of the rice production area was converted
into irrigated paddy fields by 1997, which accounts for 76% of total rice
production area. However, about 50% of the irrigated paddy fields are
still subject to possible damage from the drought with 10-year frequency
because of poor irrigation facilities. Besides these problems, 10,000
reservoir (55% of the 18,000 existing reservoirs) do not function well
due to this deterioration.
Physical
and physiographic constraints
Major physiographic
constraints are large mountainous areas, which are prone to erosion due
to steep slopes and high intensity rainfall. These conditions limit development
in the mountain area. Similarly the absolute shortage of flat plain area
has led to the conversion of farming areas into industrial and urban areas.
The recent development of industry as well as urbanization due to the
increase of population is the major cause of the reduction in farmland.
GDP and
GNP
The Korean
national economy has been steadily developed since the 1960s. The Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) was US$ 480.2 billion in 1996, and dropped to US$
437.4 billion in 1997. Gross National Product (GNP) per capita decreased
from US$ 10,543 in 1996 to US$ 9,511 in 1997. The economic growth rate
was 8.7% in 1995, 6.9% in 1996, and 4.9% in 1997. The gross saving ratio
in 1997 was 34.6%: 24.3% in the private sector and 10.3% in the government
sector.
Export volume
increased sharply from US $ 1.0 billion in 1970 to US $ 63.0 billion in
1990, and it reached US $ 136.2 billion in 1997.
Agricultural
Productivity
The climatic
conditions in Korea allow one harvest of most crops except some vegetables
and food crops. The agricultural productivity of major crops is relatively
high with high inputs of fertilizers and chemicals, applying advanced
farming skills, intensive extension and farm mechanization. The yields
of paddy rice, barley, wheat, potato, maize and pulse in 1997 recorded
6,950kg, 3,820kg, 4,040kg, 5,000kg, 4,110kg and 1,570kg per ha, respectively.
The yield
of rice in Korea is the highest among all the food crops and indicates
a high level in the world as well. Chinese cabbage is the most widely
grown among the vegetables and yields 65,210kg per ha each season. Apples
are one of the major fruits and harvests are 16,300kg per ha.
Water
Resources
Korea has
1,274 mm of average annual precipitation, which is estimated at 126.7
billion m3 of water in volume. Out of 126.7 billion m3 of water, 69.7
billion m3 discharges to rivers and streams showing a 55% runoff rate
and 57 billion m3 evaporates or infiltrates as a direct loss. Total available
surface and ground water is estimated at 47.2 billion m3 which includes
23.0 billion m3 of river flows during the non-flood season, 10.8 billion
m3 of stored water in multipurpose dams and agricultural reservoirs and
13.4 billion m3 of ground water.
Water
Demand and Supply
Water demand
has been steadily increasing for the last several decades due to the increase
in population, irrigation area and industries, as well as the rapid expansion
of urban areas. The water demand in 1994 amounted to about 30.1 billion
m3 which comprises 6.2 billion m3 of municipal use, 2.6 billion m3 of
industrial use, 14.9 billion m3 of agricultural use and 6.4 billion m3
of instream flow augmentation. Half of the total water demand came from
agricultural use.
Approximately
32.5 billion m3 consisting of 17.2 billion m3 of river discharge, 2.6
billion m3 of ground water and 12.7 billion m3 of stored water in reservoirs
were supplied in 1994. Total water supply slightly exceeded total water
demand in that year.
Water
Potential Developed and to be Developed
The usable
water potential is estimated at 83.1 billion m3. The water potential consists
of 69.7 billion m3 of river discharge and 13.4 billion m3 of ground water.
Of the 69.7
billion m3 of surface water potential, about 27.5 billion m3 (17.2 billion
m3 of river flows and 10.3 billion m3 of reservoir storage) is being used
and the remaining 42.2 billion m3 is assumed to be the potential to be
developed. Excluding 3.4 billion m3 of developed ground water (1997),
of the 13.4 billion m3 of total available ground water, 10 billion m3
becomes potentially developable ground water. Therefore, the amount of
water potential to be developed totals 53 billion m3, which are 42.2 billion
m3 of surface water and 10.8 billion m3 of ground water.
Plans
for Development
According
to the long-term plans for water resources development, approximately
5.1 billion m3 of surface water is scheduled to be developed by the end
of 2011. The plan includes the construction of 28 multipurpose dams with
a storage capacity of 4.3 billion m3 and many agricultural dams with a
total storage capacity of 0.8 billion m3. A great number of small-scale
ground water development projects will be executed by various sectors.
However, water resources development has become more difficult in recent
years due to an increase in construction and compensation costs, limited
appropriate dam sites, and strong opposition from the inhabitants and
environmental concerns.
Storage
About 18,000
agricultural dams together have 3.0 billion m3 of effective storage capacity
and irrigate about 506 thousand ha of rice paddies. Most agricultural
reservoirs have small storage capacities with less than one million m3
and only 377 reservoirs have more than one million m3 of effective storage
capacity. The 35 existing large dams for hydro-electric power generation,
municipal or industrial water supply and flood control have a total storage
capacity of 13.5 billion m3 and effective storage of 9.3 billion m3. Seventeen
large dams having a total storage capacity of 3.9 billion m3 are currently
under construction.
Run of
the River
Since approximately
two-thirds of river water flows during the three months of the flood season,
much of flood discharge flows directly into sea. Therefore, only 46.7
billion m3 from 69.7 billion m3 of river discharge can be considered available.
River discharges show considerable variation from season to season. River’s
discharge remains low during dry season from October to June and runs
high during the wet season from July to September. Monthly river runoff
in billion m3 is measured at 1.5 (January), 1.6 (February), 2.6 (March),
4.8 (April), 4.2 (May), 5.1 (June), 11.5 (July), 12.9 (August), 9.9 (September),
3.3 (October), 2.3 (November) and 1.5 (December).
Withdrawals
A total of
14.9 billion m3 of water for agricultural purpose is withdrawn from reservoirs
(9.4 billion m3), pumping stations (2.7 billion m3), headworks (1.9 billion
m3), tube-wells and other sources (0.9 billion m3). Most agricultural
water is used for paddy rice and about 500 million m3 of water is applied
for upland crops. The water for non-agricultural use amounted to 15.2
billion m3 which includes 6.2 billion m3 for municipal use (41%), 2.6
billion m3 for industrial use (17%) and 6.4 billion m3 for instream flow
augmentation (42%).
Efficiency
of Water Use
Efficiency
of agricultural water use is reported to be 80-85% for rice irrigation
and 60-85% for upland crop irrigation. The measure of efficiency in rice
irrigation includes only seepage loss through canals while operational
losses are not properly counted. Therefore, actual rice irrigation efficiency
seems to be considerably lower than 80%.
Waste
Water Recycling
Wastewater
recycling is in an initial stage in Korea. At present 6 waste water recycling
stations with a combined treatment capacity of 3.9 million m3 are being
operated and other 6 stations with a treatment capacity of 23.2 million
m3 are under construction.
Approximately
160 thousand m3 of seawater is desalinized at 16 stations for supplying
drinking water, mostly on island areas.
Environmental
Concerns and Ameliorative Actions
Water pollution
has accelerated since the 1970s and water quality improvement has become
a major task in the 1990s. In order to monitor water quality, 1,698 water
quality measuring stations are operated throughout the country: rivers
(530), reservoirs (153), domestic water sources (589), agricultural water
sources (300), and others (126). Water quality measurements in BOD in
the four major rivers in 1997 showed 4.1 mg/l at Noryangjin in the Han
River, 4.2 mg/l at Mulgeum in the Nakdong River, 3.4 mg/l at Buyeo in
the Kuem River and 7.2 mg/l at Najoo in the Yongsan River.
Ground water
table drawdown and ground water contamination occurred in some areas and
many small wells have been abandoned in urban areas.
Water pollution
is caused mainly by domestic, industrial and livestock wastes. Domestic
and industrial waste discharges amount 14.6 million m3 and 7.3 million
m3 per day, respectively. A total of 398 wastewater treatment plants treat
about 10 million m3 of waste discharge and many other plants are under
construction or are planned. The basin areas, which produce water for
domestic use, are protected by law such as the designation of streamside
management zones, reserved forest and specified areas for the preservation
of clean water.
National
Issues
Four most
significant national issues for the development and management of the
water for food and rural development are identified as follows :
The most
significant issue is the development of agricultural and rural water resources
under the spirit of environmentally sound and sustainable development.
The construction of medium size multipurpose dams and irrigation reservoirs
is recommended for supplying the increased water use. Enhancing existing
reservoirs is advisable because of its fruitful merits. Linked operation
of dams in a basin or transfer of water between different watershed areas
is also the apparent method within some degree of limitations.
The second
is water saving by a good water management and reasonable maintenance.
The water saving is the most environmentally protective and sustainable
conservation method for the sake of its advantages as well as its effectiveness
on reducing the new construction needs to meet the increased water demand.
The effective use of reservoir storage, water saving irrigation, construction
of concrete ditch, and water management by a tele-monitoring and tele-control
(TM/TC) system are the relevant methods fall into this category.
The third
is protection of water from pollution. Catchment management is essential.
Pollutant sources should be regulated by prohibiting the discharge of
themselves. Fundamental environmental protection facilities must be broadened
and enhanced. Water quality monitoring system should also be strengthened.
Ground water should be conserved.
The fourth
is the rearrangement of water management organizations and water laws.
Many kinds of water laws must be unified and clarified. Two independent
organizations for the agricultural and rural water development and for
the management and maintenance of developed water, respectively, should
be merged into one agency for more effective operation in the forthcoming
21st century.
In August
1996, the Korean government established the Committee for Water Resource
Management and Policy under the Office of the Prime Minister (Chairman:
the Prime Minister, members: ministers from the Agriculture and Forestry,
Environment, and Construction and Transportation Ministries) to prepare
a comprehensive plan for water resource management for the 21st century.
Private
sector participation
There is
no private water resource and irrigation development except a number of
tideland reclamation areas that were developed by private companies. All
the investment costs and a part of operational and maintenance costs have
been borne by the government budget since 1988.
Concept
of water
Historically,
community water rights have been recognized, and as such, water was owned
by the community and not by individual farmer. Water was a social good
in these days, even if self-help works were needed. After establishing
Irrigation Associations from the 1910s to the 1950s, farmers have had
to pay water charges and part of the construction costs, changing the
concept to be more closely tied to the economy.
Since the
last decade, the concept of water had changed again from economic back
to social, as a result of on the increase of subsidies.
Overall
national vision
The main
policy objectives for water for food and rural development in Korea are
(1) to establish an agricultural production structure that ensure a stable
supply of staple foods and paddy rice and (2) to create a better rural
living environment with coexistence among the primary, secondary, and
tertiary industries in rural areas.
Several national
visions within the planning projects will be identified as follows :
-
To strengthen
the development of the agricultural production infrastructure, particularly
that of paddy rice for stable self-sufficiency in staple foods. This
will include: the development of water resources for agricultural and
rural use as a provision against drought, drainage improvement projects,
the completion of un-finished large scale farmland reclamation projects
for ensuring high quality farmland.
-
To establish
agriculture’s production base early on to make mechanized farming possible.
This will include an agricultural road improvement project, a farmland
consolidation project and the development of upland production base.
-
To scale
up the investment for the efficient management of water resources and
related structures and facilities. This will also include the reorganization
of agencies in charge of development and management of agricultural
and rural water as well as rehabilitation and modernization of hydraulic
structures and facilities.
-
To shift
the development method for the preservation and conservation of national
land and the environment. Disaster prevention and the conservation of
farmland are also important from the viewpoint of national land conservation.
-
To pursue
rural development where the primary, secondary, and tertiary industries
coexist in rural areas. This will include the village sewage projects
and integrated rural development projects.
-
To strengthen
international cooperation and to study the North Korean agricultural
production infrastructure as a provision for reunification.
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Prof. Kim, Tai-Cheol