Gangwha County Governor Yu Cheon-ho Holds Rice Transplanting Ceremony Praying for Bumper Harvest of Premium 'Gangwha Island Rice'

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Shin Eun-seop] Gangwha County Governor Yu Cheon-ho held a rice transplanting demonstration on the 6th at Goguri Field in Gyeodong-myeon as the farming season began in earnest, and prayed for a bountiful harvest.

On the day, Governor Yu transplanted four varieties of "premium quality rice"—Chamdurem, Alchanmi, Misomi, and Cheongun.

"Premium quality rice" refers to rice varieties developed by the National Institute of Crop Science that have been selected based on strict criteria including taste, external quality, milling characteristics, and disease and pest resistance.

To ensure stable production and enhance the brand value of Gangwha Island Rice, the county replaced foreign varieties such as Chucheong and Koshihikari, and diversified the demonstration varieties to avoid concentration on certain types such as Samgang.

Governor Yu Cheon-ho stated, "Gangwha Island Rice is Korea's finest premium rice," adding, "To meet consumers' trust, we will spare no effort in supporting the development and distribution of superior seed varieties so that delicious and safe high-quality Gangwha Island Rice can continue to be produced."

Meanwhile, since last year, the county has been carrying out a rice variety development project with joint participation from the National Institute of Crop Science, Gangwha County, and the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation for the development and distribution of early-maturing and late-maturing varieties. This year, as a second-year project, the county plans to conduct demonstration tests on 19 rice lines across 8,000 square meters of rice paddies in the northern and southern regions of Gangwha, and through future cultivation and taste evaluations, plans to select, develop, and distribute new rice varieties suitable for the county.