South Korea builds 120-hectare long-grain rice base in Haenam and Jangheung

The Jeonnam-Gwangju Agricultural Research and Extension Services has established a 120-hectare long-grain rice production base in the counties of Haenam and Jangheung in southwestern South Korea, aimed at food service, processing and export markets rather than domestic table rice, according to youngnong.co.kr.

Long-grain rice differs from the short-grain varieties that dominate Korean household consumption: the grains are long and slender with little stickiness, and the type is eaten as a staple across Southeast Asia and other world markets. Domestic demand has widened steadily as the number of foreign residents rises and restaurant menus diversify, the publication reported. The project rests on two anchors — 100 hectares in Haenam and 20 hectares in Jangheung — and aims to fix cultivation techniques suited to each area's climate and soil while organising the chain from field through processing to distribution.

Haenam: 100 hectares and a dedicated mill

In Haenam, a 100-hectare demonstration complex was built over two years, from 2025 through 2026, with total project spending of 800 million won. The site grows domestically bred long-grain varieties including IPS and CJ6, and a dedicated milling facility has been completed to secure stable distribution links.

The commercial result this year is direct supply to Chipotle: the first South Korean outlet of the US Mexican-food chain, its Gangnam store, uses long-grain rice grown in Haenam. Volumes start at 50 tonnes this year and are set to reach 150 tonnes a year by 2027.

Jangheung: varieties, storage and branding

The 20 hectares in Jangheung were laid out this year under the new-technology dissemination programme of Korea's Rural Development Administration. Cultivation centres on 'Amihyang', another domestically bred variety. A further 400 million won is being invested through 2027 in display and propagation plots for new long-grain varieties and in specialist storage and processing facilities. Work on a proprietary brand, packaging and distribution channels is also advancing.

• Haenam: 100 hectares, 800 million won spent across 2025 and 2026, varieties IPS and CJ6, dedicated mill in place.
• Jangheung: 20 hectares, 400 million won through 2027, variety 'Amihyang', storage and processing capacity plus own brand under development.
• Supply from Haenam to Chipotle: 50 tonnes in 2026, rising to 150 tonnes a year by 2027.

Expansion tied to trial results

The extension service said it will analyse regional adaptability and productivity at the two demonstration sites, upgrade cultivation techniques so growers can harvest reliably, and widen the production base in stages. Park In-gu, head of the technology dissemination division at the institute, said long-grain rice is a differentiated item that creates new demand among foreign consumers, specialist restaurant operators and the processing and export sectors rather than competing with the traditional table-rice market. He said the agency would tie the Haenam and Jangheung production bases closely together to establish long-grain rice as a new specialised rice industry for the Jeonnam-Gwangju region.

No yield per hectare, farm-gate price or target export market was disclosed for either site, and no volumes beyond the Chipotle contract were named. For processors and importers, the significant detail is the milling and storage capacity attached to the fields: without it, a 120-hectare base supplies paddy rather than finished rice, and the food-service accounts that justify the project cannot be served directly.