A Comparison of South Korea and North Dakota Conventional and Sustainable Farmers’ Participation in Community Organizations = A Comparison of South Korea and North Dakota Conventional and Sustainable Farmers’ Participation in Community Organizations

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study compared the levels of North Dakota and South Korean conventional and sustainable farmers' participation in community organizations. The North Dakota data were collected in 1990 from a sample of 568 farm and ranch operators, and the South Korean data were collected in late 1999 and early 2000 from a sample of 147 farmers through interviews and surveys. The data were analyzed using the SPSS ANOVA computer program.
The sustainable farmers in both countries were more likely to participate in community organizations than the conventional farmers. Nevertheless, through this comparative study it was found that some differences between two countries exist due to their different cultural backgrounds. Whereas Americans were oriented more to morality and ethics influenced by church, farmers in Korean were more influenced by civil movements. Whereas the reduced tillage farmers in Americans were more likely to be sustainable farmers, the mixed farmers in Korea were more likely to belong to conventional farmers. While individuals in community organizations focused on the economics of agriculture, sustainable farming and farmers’ social participation were social matters, which were used to develop sustainable community.