Here is a brief update on the fieldwork.

Seoul and surrounds

Since September 2022 I have been interviewing members of Hansalim in and around Seoul, Gyeongi (greater Seoul) and some of the surrounding provinces north and south of the capital including Paju, Goesan, Cheongju and Asan. I have spoken with directors of some of Hansalim’s consumer co-operatives and producer alliances as well as activists, producers and employees.

Throughout this time I have been reading about the co-operative movement in Korea and about Hansalim’s history and philosophy. I have also been meeting regularly with researchers from Hansalim’s Mosim and Salim Research Center and an independent Korean researcher to discuss what I am learning and to dialogue over different interpretations and narratives around Hansalim as a co-operative and a social movement.

These initial explorations have been written up and will be submitted to journals shortly and as soon as I am able I will be writing up a draft of the first book chapter.

In the meantime I am starting on some regional case studies in Busan and Jeju.

Busan

I will travel to Busan this week to interview three groups: consumer co-op directors, employees and producers. I am told that Busan Hansalim works a little differently from the capital region co-operatives so it will be interesting to compare their experience and perspectives with those of my previous interviewees. They apparently have a stronger emphasis on relationships with local farmers while many other parts of Hansalim are more closely integrated with the central distribution hub.

I will share some photos and reflections from the trip on this blog in the weeks following.

Jeju

Jeju is an interesting example of a localized multi-stakeholder structure which I expect to have closer interaction between consumers and producers because it is a sub-tropical island which is more difficult to integrate with the central distribution system. Jeju is also known for their emphasis on natural farming techniques and multi-farm circulating farming systems. In addition, Jeju Hansalim has been carrying out a formal social accounting process to monitor the outcomes of their activities not just in economic terms but also social and environmental. So I anticipate a very interesting visit to Jeju this summer.