"Your Area Is Not Serviced"... Risking Lives for Groceries [Food Desert] ①

People Living in Food Deserts
No Grocery Stores Within a 2?3km Radius: The "Food Desert" Dilemma
The Struggle to Shop for Food in Dogok-ri, Dangjin, Chungcheongnam-do

Editor's NoteHave you ever found grocery shopping difficult? In an era where it seems unimaginable not to be able to buy the food you need anytime, both online and offline, there are still areas in South Korea where there is no supermarket within walking distance and even food delivery is unavailable, making it hard to access groceries. These places, where buying food is as difficult as finding an oasis in the desert, are called "food deserts." Food deserts are expanding due to aging populations, regional decline, and information gaps. We aim to examine what problems this everyday inconvenience of grocery shopping creates and to reflect on them together.

Results of entering the address of Dogok-ri Village Hall in two major delivery applications. There are no stores available for delivery. Photo by Jeon Jinyoung.

"There are no stores that match your selection. Please try different options."

When entering "46 Dogok-gil, Hapdeok-eup, Dangjin-si, Chungcheongnam-do, Dogok-ri Village Hall" into a food delivery application, a message appeared stating that there were no stores available for delivery. Changing the category to Chinese, Western, or other cuisines yielded the same result. This area, home to 59 residents with an average age of 70, is a so-called "food desert," with no grocery stores within walking distance of their homes.

Only a Convenience Store within 3km... 7km Trip Required for Fresh Food

Convenience store refrigerator section near Dogok-ri village hall. Retort pouch foods are mainly displayed. Photo by Jeon Jin-young.

For residents of Dogok-ri, "grocery shopping" for meals requires a great deal of time and courage. One must travel 3 kilometers along a two-lane road from the village to reach three sparsely located convenience stores. Even if you visit a convenience store, you can only buy simple snacks such as cup rice, triangle kimbap, and chips-household necessities or fresh foods are not available.

To buy fresh foods like fruits, dairy products, and meat, residents must go to a Nonghyup Hanaro Mart about 7 kilometers away. Considering that most studies define a food desert as an area without a grocery store within a 2-3km radius, this place represents an even more severe form of food desert.

Hanaro Mart Ugangeup Branch and Hapdeok Branch face each other across a block in the town center, which is the busiest area. There, you will find two supermarkets that offer everything from fresh food to frying pans, clothing, and daily necessities, as well as a bus terminal and a traditional market. The stores are as large as those in the Seoul metropolitan area and are fully stocked with everything from frozen goods to meat and seafood. Ultimately, Dogok-ri residents must travel this distance to do satisfactory grocery shopping.

An elderly person is shopping at Hanaro Mart, Hapdeok Nonghyup, Dangjin, Chungnam on the 1st. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

Only 10 Minutes by Car... But the Most Dangerous Grocery Trip in the World

On the 1st, a resident is working in the field in Dogok 1-ri, Hapdeok-eup, Dangjin, Chungnam. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

Accessibility is poor. It takes 10 minutes by car to get from Dogok-ri Village Hall to Hanaro Mart Ugangeup Branch. You simply drive straight along the two-lane road into the town center. While it may seem like an easy distance, for village residents with an average age in their 70s, this is the most dangerous grocery trip in the world.

The village of Dogok-ri is connected by a narrow, winding single-lane road that barely fits one car. After traveling this road for a while and reaching the main road, you are immediately faced with a two-lane highway busy with heavy machinery. This is because there are various industrial and agricultural complexes near Dogok-ri. A variety of heavy vehicles-dump trucks loaded with lumber, trailers carrying containers, and tankers transporting special chemicals-travel in both directions on this two-lane road.

Residents must cross this road to go grocery shopping. To reach the bus stop, which has eight buses per day, they also have to cross this two-lane road. While the reporters were driving between the village hall and Hanaro Mart, they saw people pulling styrofoam boxes tied to handcarts along the roadside. These were elderly residents returning home after grocery shopping by bus.

If you miss the bus or have too much to carry, you need to find another way. Kim Jisoo, age 76, used to ride a 125cc four-wheeled agricultural motorcycle to go shopping before the mobile mart service was introduced. For Kim, whose back is severely bent and who has difficulty walking due to a bad leg, the four-wheeled motorcycle is the best means of transportation.

When asked, "Sir, how do you go shopping when it's so dangerous?" he simply looked at the reporters. Village chief Yoon Jaehyuk said, "You have to speak loudly because he can't hear well." When asked again in a loud voice, Kim pointed to the old motorcycle helmet in the basket. Despite being unable to see or hear well, he braves the dangerous road to go grocery shopping.

Kim's spouse is currently bedridden and unable to move due to illness. Their children have all moved away, so Kim is solely responsible for caregiving, housework, and farming. To prepare nutritious meals like bulgogi for his spouse and to buy farming supplies, Kim gets on his motorcycle, as he is the only one who can still move, even if slowly.

Mr. Jisoo Kim's 125cc agricultural motorcycle is loaded with ramen and other items purchased from a mobile mart. Before mobile marts existed, he had to ride the motorcycle to do the shopping. Photo by Jeonyoung Jeon.

Some residents use electric wheelchairs. The basket attached to the front of the wheelchair can easily carry a box of snacks. In the village, electric wheelchairs are nicknamed "Benz."

The problem is that elderly residents who go shopping on these "Benz" vehicles are exposed to the risk of accidents. Even if they drive as close as possible to the edge of the main road to avoid the fast-moving heavy vehicles, electric wheelchairs, which cannot exceed 10 km/h, are still at high risk of accidents.

Chief Yoon said that there was a resident who died in a car accident while shopping with a "Benz" in this village. "The bus company says it's not profitable, so what can we do?" he lamented. There are many problems he wishes to solve, but he is frustrated that things are not going as he hopes.