Peasants Go To Town: The Rise of Commerical Farming in Korea

Abstract

Contrary to what has been predicted by the Marxist and substantivist perspectives, market penetration into the small South Korean farming community did not destroy its cooperative unity. The peasant community has been protected from the dangers of internal differentiation by the government interventionist policy—in the form of restricted commodification of land—and by urban industrial growth. The South Korean government, at its inception, abolished the age old tenancy system, redistributed arable land in line with the land-to-the-tiller principle, and further established and effectively reinforced the three hectare ceiling on landownership to prevent a return to status quo ante. Consequently, the egalitarian basis for the agrarian system remained intact during the post-Land Reform period. The rural sector also has been benefitted in maintaining its initial equilibrium by the urban industrial growth that preceded rural development without relying upon rural savings and absorbed surplus population, thereby eliminating the disequilibrating effects of the intrusion of urban capitalist and population pressure. Under these legal, capital and demographic protections, the collectivist ethic—the traditional basis of peasant community—survived the assault of the capitalist market and assisted farmers in their marketing competition against urban merchants.

keywords:

• farmers
• commercial farming
• urban merchants
• hamlet solidarity