Climate crisis in rural areas
Even in Inje, one of the northernmost counties of Korea, it was still hot in the afternoon until mid-November. Some people wore short-sleeved T-shirts in late autumn, too.
It is a little cooler in rural areas in Gangwon Province (the northeastern region of South Korea) than in other regions of the country. Nonetheless, also in Inje in the province, spring and autumn are getting shorter while summer is getting longer because of global warming.
From October to November, I participated in a government-supported program named the Two-Month Stay in Inje. For two months, I lived in a rural village in the county.
The room where I stayed had big windows, so I could always see beautiful mountains out of them. However, even in October and early November, it was too hot to be in the room in the afternoon due to the strong sunlight and heat coming through the windows. So I used other cool spaces in the accommodation during the time, like the meeting room of the building. I could feel the climate crisis.
In the village, I stayed with other participants of the Two-Month Stay. Talking with us (the participants), the manager of the village once said, “We farmers deeply feel the climate crisis.” She said, “It’s difficult to grow corn and other vegetables because it’s so hot in summer.”
Have you felt that global warming is directly affecting your life? It may be hard for many urban people to directly experience the climate crisis. Those who stay indoors most of the time may take this issue lightly and think, “If it’s hot, I can turn on the air conditioner. No problem.”
Nevertheless, there are people who do not have an air conditioner. Moreover, if we use more air conditioning, the Earth will become even hotter. And of course, those who work outdoors, including delivery people, street cleaners and construction workers, will feel that heat waves and heavy rains due to global warming can even threaten their lives.
The climate crisis has been increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather phenomena such as droughts, heavy rains and heat waves. We need to take this problem seriously.
One of the programs for the participants of the Two-Month Stay in Inje was to listen to a lecture on native Korean seeds. In the lecture, the speaker said, “These days, it’s too hot due to the climate crisis. A lot of farmers are having difficulty growing Korean cabbage (which grows well in a cool climate). But I planted native Korean cabbage seeds this year, and they grew well.”
He showed us various native Korean seeds like mung beans, waxy corn and beans in diverse colors. White, brown and black beans were especially beautiful.
It is urgent to respond to the climate crisis in a variety of areas including farming, and practice all methods of stopping the worsening of the crisis.
Kim Sun-ae (blog.naver.com/everythingchanges) wrote “Old Potato, New Potato” and translated “Little Lord Fauntleroy.”