Yeongju City in North Gyeongsang Province and the Anjeong Agricultural Cooperative held a ceremonial first rice harvest Friday at the farm of Choi I-han, 37, in Ogye-ri, Anjeong-myeon, marking the start of the 2026 "8·15 Liberation Rice" growing complex's harvest season.
About 50 people attended, including Yeongju Mayor Hwang Byeong-jik, Yeongju City Council Speaker Lee Sang-geun, cooperative head Son Gi-eul and participating farmers.
The "8·15 Liberation Rice" uses the ultra-early-ripening "Pparumi" variety and reached maturity 109 days after its first transplanting on April 27. The city plans to harvest a total of 120 tons through the end of this month, packaging the rice in 4-kilogram and 5-kilogram units for consumers before the chuseok holiday.
"The '8·15 Liberation Rice' produced in Yeongju — the birthplace of the Korean Independence Corps — carries special meaning as a reminder of the spirit of liberation," Mayor Hwang said. "We will work to strengthen the competitiveness of Yeongju rice and help boost farm household incomes through stable production of high-quality new-crop rice and the expansion of sales channels."
kbj7653@heraldcorp.com
