Rice being eclipsed by meats and vegetables in Korea

Rice is losing popularity in Korea. More Koreans are lowering their intake of the grain and increasing their consumption of fats and proteins. A 41-year-old worker named Kim Jae-ha is one whose diet transitioned from rice-based to meat-based. When...

[THE JOONGANG ILBO]

Rice is losing popularity in Korea.

More Koreans are lowering their intake of the grain and increasing their consumption of fats and proteins.

A 41-year-old worker named Kim Jae-ha is one whose diet transitioned from rice-based to meat-based. When Kim gets up in the morning, he skips breakfast. Instead, he has a full meal during lunch, mainly eating meat and intentionally avoiding too much rice. When he returns from work, he eats a simple dinner based on side dishes or salad. In the course of a day, he only consumes more or less one bowl of rice.

Kim, who once considered rice at the center of his diet, changed his diet when he was diagnosed as overweight during his checkups.

“I got used to a meat-based or fish-based diet, and more people around me intentionally avoid intaking carbohydrate as well,” said Kim.

The trend is also proven in numbers.

Rice consumption per person fell 0.4 percent from 56.9 kilograms in 2021 to 56.7 kilograms for 2022, according to data from Statistics Korea released on Jan. 27. While the decline may not seem significant, the tally differs when it narrows down to daily rice consumption, which was 155.5 grams. Considering that one bowl of rice on average contains 100 grams of rice, people merely consume 1.5 bowls of rice a day. The amount is the least since the agency started to compile the data in 1963.

Consumption of meat has risen. Meat consumption per person beat rice consumption for the first time in 2022, at 58.4 kilograms, according to Korea Rural Economic Institute (KREI).

“It’s evident that people are transitioning to meat as their staple food,” said Jeong Min-kook, director of the Center for Agricultural Outlook said. “Prospects for meat consumption per person will steadily increase — in 2024, 58.5 kilograms; in 2027, 60.6 kilograms and by 2032, 63.1 kilograms.”

Of the meats, pork was eaten the most, at 28.5 kilograms, followed by chicken, at 15.1 kilograms, and beef, at 14.8 kilograms. In other words, pork took up nearly half of the total meat consumption.

Among 1,700 adults, 78 percent eat pork more than once a week, while the number was 50 percent for beef, according to a survey done by Rural Development Administration.

“Demand for pork, which is symbolized as food for the common such as samgyeopsal [pork belly], is likely to increase due to economic stagnation in an era of inflation and high interest rates,” said Professor Lee Eun-hee in consumer studies at Inha University.

Supply follows the demand. Pork supply for 2022 increased 12.2 percent on year to 9.51 trillion won, according to KREI. Rice supply, No. 2 in terms of supply, fell 6.1 percent on year to 8.95 trillion won. In terms of supply, it’s the first time pork beat rice since the period between 2016 to 2017.

Rice supply topped the chart once again from 2018 to 2021 but meat beat pork again last year.

“Rice supply would have fallen more according to market theory, but it was able to retain the amount as the government bought the remaining rice surplus citing reasons such as food security,” said Professor Jang Jae-cheol of the department of animal science at Gyeongsang National University. “The fall in rice demand is steeper than increase in meat demand, so it’s unlikely that rice supply will go up.”

Demand for vegetables, as they are often paired up meat, is expected to increase as well. KREI forecasts consumption of cabbage, garlic, radishes, chili and onions per person to rise 905.4 percent from 11.1 kilograms this year to 111.6 kilograms by 2032.

Demand for ingredients used in meat seasoning is also expected to rise.

“About 40 percent of the budget from Agriculture Ministry is used to develop and institutionalize policies on rice,” said Jeong Hwang-geun, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs at a press interview last September. “The upside is that about 90 percent of the rice supply is self-sufficient, but downsides also exist.”

BY KIM KI-HWAN [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]