Don't tread on me.(Point Of View)(farmers)(Brief Article)

South Korea, the world's 12th--largest economy, has a big appetite for free-trade agreements, but the benefits of open markets mean little to the tillers of its rice paddies and barley fields. They see instead an onslaught of cheap farm goods flooding their country and destroying their livelihoods. At the last World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting in Cancun, Mexico, it was a Korean farmer who stabbed himself in the heart, wearing a sign that reportedly read: "The WTO kills farmers." Although farming makes up a mere 4% of Korea's output, the country's 3.6 million farmers have remarkably strong pull. South Korea's first free-trade deal was signed with Chile more than a year ago, but the farmers' allies in the parliament have repeatedly scuttled its ratification. The government is trying to ease the burden by giving growers cash. So far, however, the political standoff in Korea has put potential deals on hold. For the Asian country's free-trade enthusiasts, the farmers' resolve is a bitter harvest.

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