[RURAL FOOD REIMAGINED] Marche@ aims to change farmer stereotype

What does it mean to be a farmer in the 21st century? If elderly folks in straw hats or men driving tractors are what comes to mind, prepare to be surprised at Seoul’s farmers’ market Marche@, whose tents are filled with young and creative vibrancy.

The Korean countryside is often stigmatized as obsolete compared to the glitz and glamor of city life. Recently, however, there is a growing number of people moving out of the populous Seoul and surrounding areas and into small rural towns to reconnect with food and build a more conscious, community-oriented lifestyle. In this interview series, the Korea JoongAng Daily looks at what is brewing far beyond Korea’s cities and how ideas for sustainable food culture are playing out in creative ways.

Lee Bo-eun, founder and executive director of Seoul's farmers' market Marche@ poses for a photo at one of Marche@'s markets in Mapo District, western Seoul, on Aug. 7. [PARK SANG-MOON]

What does it mean to be a farmer in the 21st century?

If elderly folks in straw hats or men driving tractors are what comes to mind, prepare to be surprised at Seoul’s farmers’ market Marche@, whose tents are filled with young and creative vibrancy.

“Our countryside is changing, and in turn, the value that farmers produce these days continues to diversify,” Founder and Executive Director of Marche@ Lee Bo-eun told the Korea JoongAng Daily.

“Some farmers focus on producing agricultural content more than growing crops, or consider educational workshops as their farms' main business. There are also farmers who focus more on the production process than its output or concentrate on running an environmentally-friendly farm.

“These are some of the farmers who make up Marche@ and we are so privileged to be able to work with them.”

Marche@ is only a tiny part of the whole picture but offers a glimpse of the new reality in the Korean countryside where about 10 percent of its population solely identify as farmers.

A farmer partaking in a Marche@ market on Aug. 7 in Mapo District, identifies himself as a photographer as well. [PARK SANG-MOON]

Statistics Korea also reported in 2022 that some 20 percent of Korean farmers’ income comes from the actual act of farming while about 42 percent is from activities other than farming and 33 percent is from transfer income. Statistics Korea cited raised labor costs and management expenses for the low proportion of income from farming.

Marche@ reflects these changes outside the capital city. It opened its first farmers market in 2012 in Jongno District, central Seoul, with just some 30 vendors. Since then, it has grown in scale and popularity.

Vendors and customers at Marche@ [JOONGANG PHOTO]

Marche@ combines the French word for market and the “@” sign to indicate that it can open anywhere. Some of its regular locations include Hyehwa-dong and Insa-dong in Jongno District, Seogyo-dong in Mapo District, western Seoul, and Seongsu-dong in Seongdong District, eastern Seoul. It is held around two to four times every month, depending on the weather. Its large-scale markets usually take place outdoors and open around once a month.

Lee said that her interest in sustainable eating and farmers’ markets burgeoned after hearing about Indian environmental activist Vandana Shiva and her fellow female activists, who fought for environmental justice in the country and mainly argued against corporate agriculture.

She joined the Korean Women’s Environmental Network, a nonprofit championing ecofeminism, and started a mini rooftop garden as part of the organization’s project.

“Through the project where citizens grow their own food that is necessary for their sustenance, I easily saw how much hard work farming requires and how delicious freshly harvested vegetables are,” Lee said. “I also witnessed how the four seasons change the garden beautifully and felt the sense of community when people sit together at a table to enjoy that food.

“I strongly felt that more people should be introduced to this sort of lifestyle and got the idea of creating a platform where these vegetables, fruits and crops can be gathered and shared in one place.”

People shop for vegetables in Marche@ [JOONGANG PHOTO]

With consistent operations over the past 11 years, Marche@ is now considered a representative farmers’ market in Seoul. This was not an easy feat, however, in a country where the concept and culture of a farmers’ market are still relatively new.

Among various legal obstacles hindering farmers’ markets from taking place, Lee pointed out that securing a stable place to hold the market was the most urgent task.

“This was particularly highlighted during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic when shopping centers and traditional markets all operated as usual but farmers' markets had to close because we are classified as an event or assembly,” Lee said.

The platform survived the pandemic with some creative approaches, such as holding smaller-scale gatherings that prohibited talking and selling prepackaged goods, but Lee said that proper legal recognition was critical for farmers’ markets in Korea to grow.

“I hope that the day will come soon when farmer's markets can negotiate on an equal footing as a legal entity to play a role in citizens' health as well as the sustainability of cities and rural areas.”

Locally grown mushrooms that are sold at Aug. 7's Marche@ market in Mapo District, western Seoul [PARK SANG-MOON]

Sustaining Marche@ through the logistical challenges is its dedicated customer base - and it is more than just people in their 20s and 30s looking to partake in the current “green” trend, according to Lee.

“Since that first market in Hyehwa-dong, our customer base has significantly diversified - from the elderly who miss the taste of the vegetables that they used to eat growing up and come to the market to buy these vegetables to consumers who are interested in phytochemicals delivered by soil microorganisms. Some want to communicate with the producers of their foods or shop without producing waste. We also see chefs and cooks searching for the deep flavor emanating from fresh and healthy vegetables.”

Food is availaible in Marche@ [JOONGANG PHOTO]

It is also a bridge between farmers and chefs looking for quality ingredients that are sustainably harvested - such as the three female cooks who farm every Tuesday with a farmer in Pocheon, Gyeonggi, as well as a florist and cook who farm and grow flowers together in Yangpyeong Country, Gyeonggi.

In this sense, Marche@ spans much further than the actual market grounds.

“Not long ago, the chefs from the One Sugar Day restaurant, who frequented Marche@, went to Cheorwon County [in Gangwon] to plant perilla seeds at Cheonui Wind Farm whose owner-farmer used to work in the city. They are now growing rice, peppers and perilla seeds through biodynamic farming methods,” Lee pointed out. “The One Sugar Day chefs made a wonderful vegan cake with perilla oil from this farm last year and are in the process of producing this perilla seed this year.

“This is how Marche@ makes its way into many people's lives - through many mediums, including farms, workshops and restaurants.”

BY LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]