BENEFICIAL LANDSCAPE AGRICULTURE

[Anchor Lead]

Colorful barley grains are drawing tourists these days at Homigot Cape in Pohang, Gyeongsangbukdo Province which is a well-known site for viewing the sunrise. With domestic travel demand on the rise due to the pandemic, such landscape agriculture is said to be raising farming income as well as tourist revenue. Take a look.

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Multicolor barley fills the fields. The beautiful shades range from blue to velvet and black, creating quite a spectacle.

[Soundbite] Lee Ye-un, Lee Song-i, Jeong Yu-jin(From Daejeon) : "We came here to see the famous hand sculpture and other tourist attractions. It’s really nice."

A colored barley scenic agricultural complex has been established near the famed Homigot Cape. It measures some 170-thousand square meters. When the barleys are fully grown and harvested, buckwheat is planted. Cosmos and rape flowers are next in line. The planting continues all year round, drawing visitors across all four seasons. Such scenic landscape agriculture, as it’s known, boosts tourism and also farming income.

[Soundbite] Ha Jong-hun(Homigot landscape agriculture cooperative) : "Many tourists are visiting. We also sell local produce."

Pohang City will set up an agro produce distribution center and a rental business for farm equipment to develop and promote the landscape agriculture sector.

[Soundbite] Jo Seong-hwan(Pohang city gov’t) : "We plan to create a rape flower-themed ice cream and launch a number of buckwheat products such as muk(Jelly) and lunch boxes."

As farming communities struggle with the aging population and dwindling income, this so-called landscaping art is gaining attention as a promising alternative.