Abstract

This study intends to analyze the evolution of USAMGIKs rice policy. Italso examines the influence of rice on Korean politics and reviews theU.S. military occupation policy in Korea. This paper stresses thatUSAMGIKs rice policy underwent trials and errors and ended in failure.Because former Japanese food controls had broken down, the Amer-ican military government inaugurated a new rice policy, establishing afree market in rice in October 1945. Unfortunately, the attempted estab-lishment of the free market led to complete disaster. The shortage ofrice was evident throughout the country. The American military govern-ment had not only rescinded the free market, but had ordered ricerationing. The disastrous shortage of rice in South Korea caused Soviet-U.S. relations on the Korean peninsula to deteriorate. The worseningfood situation forced the American military government to revive theold Japanese rice collection system in January 1946. Because of its over-whelming importance in Korean life and the bad practices involved inits collection, rice exerted a great influence on South Korean domesticpolitics. In sum, one of the greatest failures of U.S. military occupationpolicy in Korea had to do with rice policy.