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A Korea Rural Economic Institute survey of consumers found that Koreans’ most-preferred cut of meat is pork belly, pictured here. (Pixabay)

Back when Korea was an agrarian society, Koreans of the past took the energy needed to work the fields from heaping bowls of rice. That gave rise to a Korean proverb about “living through the power of rice.”

But following the wave of Westernization, Koreans’ dietary habits have gone through considerable change. It looks like it’s time to put that old proverb to rest.

Last year, Koreans’ meat consumption exceeded rice consumption for the first time in history. In effect, rice has been booted from its age-old position at the base of the Korean food pyramid.

In a recently published report titled “Agricultural Outlook 2023,” the Korea Rural Economic Institute estimated that Korea’s per capita consumption of three major meats (pork, beef and chicken) was 58.4 kilograms (128.75 lbs) in 2022. That’s 2.3 kg more than the 2021 total of 56.1kg, and a 74% increase from the 2002 amount of 33.5 kg.

In effect, Koreans’ meat consumption has been rising by an average of 2.8% a year.

Source: Statistics Korea

In contrast, it’s estimated that Koreans’ per capita consumption of rice last year was 55.6 kg, trailing meat consumption. The institute said the factors behind declining rice consumption included the fact that more people are skipping breakfast, along with the diversification of available food and a growing preference for easy-to-eat meals, including pastries and sandwiches.

In a survey of grain consumption in 2022 published last month, Statistics Korea reported that Koreans’ per capita rice consumption was 56.7 kg, 0.2 kg below the 2021 level of 56.9kg and the lowest in history.

Compared to the 112.9 kg (248 lb) of rice the average Korean consumed in 1992, per capita rice consumption has been cut in half over the past three decades. Koreans’ current rice consumption amounts to just one bowl of rice a day.

Along with rice, other starches have also seen a decline in consumption. The per capita consumption of seven main starches (rice, barley, wheat, soybeans, corn, potatoes, and sweet potatoes) fell from 167.2 kg in 2002 to 137.9 kg in 2021, for an average yearly decline of 1.0%.

Starch consumption is estimated to have fallen still further to 135.3 kg in 2022, representing an even steeper drop of 1.8%.

Koreans’ consumption of rice has dropped to around one bowl per day. (Pixabay)

The trend of falling rice consumption and rising meat consumption is expected to continue.

The Korea Rural Economic Institute projected that per capita consumption of the three major meats would increase by a yearly average of 0.8%, topping 60 kg in 2027 and reaching 63.1 kg in 2032.

At the same time, the institute expects that rice consumption will decrease from 54.4 kg in 2023 to 44.9 kg in 2033, falling an average of 2% each year. The downward trend in starch consumption is expected to continue as well.

Assuming that a serving of meat and a bowl of rice both amount to 200 grams, that would mean that Koreans will be eating 20 more servings of meat and 50 fewer bowls of rice around 2032-2033 than they are today.

The trend for vegetables is expected to be similar to the one for meat consumption.

The institute predicted that the annual per capita consumption of five staple vegetables — cabbage, radishes, garlic, peppers, and onions — would rise from 11.1 kg to 111.6 kg by 2032. This trend appears to tie in with the rising meat consumption, as demand grows for vegetables to eat with meat or to serve as ingredients for meat condiments.

(Pixabay)

In the case of fruit, two opposing trends have been visible with a decline in domestically produced fruit consumption and a rise in imported tropical fruit consumption.

Between 2002 and 2021, per capita consumption of six major types of fruits — apples, pears, peaches, grapes, mandarin oranges and sweet persimmons — fell from 47.1 kg to 35.3 kg, with an average annual decrease of 1.5%. In contrast, consumption of tropical fruits increased by 3.2 times over the same period.

The biggest factor in fruit consumption decisions is price. Last year, consumption of domestically produced fruit rose by 7.2% as prices fell, while consumption of imported tropical fruit dropped by 8.3%.

But the Korea Rural Economic Institute saw that trend as a temporary phenomenon, predicting that per capita starch and fruit consumption would continue to decline while imported fruit consumption increases in the medium to long term.

By Kwak No-pil, staff reporter

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