RIPE RICE PLANTS BECOME NEW DRAWING TOOLS

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An unusual sight is happening on rice paddies with the harvest season approaching. Ripe rice plants are used to draw various pictures on the field. Here's more.

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Two cows appear on a vast rice field to symbolize this year, which happens to be the year of the cow. Shifting in the winds, the rice ears’ movements appear to be cheering us on. A farmer takes pride in overcoming a crisis.

[Soundbite] Sohn Ki-cheol(Goesan, Chungcheongbuk-do Prov.) : "Visitors are excited and fascinated by the drawings. We have created a tourist attraction with the rice field pictures."

The region’s local farmers and government planted rice in five different colors in May to draw pictures on the fields. It was meant to be a way to give consolation to Koreans exhausted by the pandemic. With a warm smile, King Sejong the Great introduces local specialties on a field near a royal tomb. Two penguins greet tourists in a rice paddy next to a fishing ground. Five-colored rice is elaborately planted in spring to draw pictures on paddies in autumn. With a local government’s efforts, it began some ten years ago and has now spread across the nation. Rice drawings’ economic values are being recognized, as a large convenience store chain sells the region’s local specialties in return for featuring promotional pictures.

[Soundbite] Kim Jong-hwa(Rice field drawing planner) : "Through the rice paddy pictures, we created a valuable economic resource. I am helping local farmers create earn extra income and generating tourism revenue."

A wide variety of rice field drawings can be spotted across the nation, offering a rare sight during the harvest season.