Korea imports over 60% of food products, especially grains, from overseas. The industrial concern on postharvest technology is therefore not only for domestic products, but also for the exporting countries and the transportation and quarantine lines. Rice is the most important domestic product, 5 million tons/year, accounting for more than 80% of the total grain production in the country, while Chinese cabbage, radish and onion are important vegetables and apple and pear are important for postharvest storage.
Studies on postharvest rice processing technology were conducted in the 1970s and 1980s mainly at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) and Korea Food Research Institute (KFRI), and the construction of Rice Processing Complexes (RPCs) was started from 1991 through the initiation of the seventh 5-year Economic Development Plan of the country. By 1997, over 250 RPCs were constructed throughout the country and additional 120 factories are under construction or in the stage of planning. The most important vegetable storage technology deals with "Kimchi" fermentation, which has been rapidly industrialized in recent years. Apple and pears are stored in the CA storage facilities, which were initially constructed through an IBRD loan in the late 1970s. As the importation of raw materials for the food industry is growing and the consumer demand for high quality food and better sanitation is increasing, the quality of the imported food is becoming an important social issue, and the public surveillance of postharvest handling of imported food is further emphasized. The need for the application of new technologies, such as food irradiation, for the effective control of insects and microorganisms, not only for domestic products but also for international trade, is emerging.