You can lead a horse to water...

Free Trade: You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink...

OK, not exactly what is going on, but the Ministry of Agriculture's investigative groups to monitor the movement of the imported USA rice does showcase one of the facets of free trade. The big retailers, like E-Mart, Lotte Mart and Home Plus are not going to participate in government auctions of imported USA rice, because they feel they wont be able to sell it. The reasons they are giving include negative publicity over the imports, quick expiration dates and a low quality image of the foreign rice. The cheap discount stores are buying the rice, but will watch carefully so as not to tarnish their image.

It is an interesting thing. The farmers fought so hard to keep the rice out, and now that it is in, it isn’t exactly taking off yet. Similar to when they finally opened the door to Japanese "cultural" goods, like music and movies. They never did dominate the market. As for the rice, I would imagine the unscrupulous are re-labeling it "grown in Korea" (hence perhaps part of the reason behind the Ministry's investigation team), or it is being picked up by restaurants and processors rather than its intended public marketplace sales. It will be interesting to see if the social pressure can keep the market for foreign rice small, or if it will eventually seep into wider circulation like so much Chinese seafood before.