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My journey
I had four near-death experiences before inishing middle school: I nearly
drowned; my whole body suddenly became paralyzed; I came down with
scarlet fever; and I had a ruptured aorta. Later, when I joined the military, I
was assigned to the Special Forces where the training gave me a vivid and
compelling understanding of the thin line separating life and death. Now as
I run JADAM, I drive 70,000 to 80,000 kilometers (43,000-50,000 miles)
every year, a distance equivalent to two circles around the globe. I have seen
many accidents and myself was involved in a serious rollover. I have lived
with the smell of death. It is sad in a way but it gave me lessons. I acquired
a habit of not holding on to what I have. I chose not to patent my knowl-
edge but instead to share with others; so that especially those who are poor
and excluded may beneit.
But this path of sharing was choosing to depart from wealth. I and my
family lived through times of extreme hardship. All along, two heroes
gave me strength: Jesus Christ and Karl Marx. I love these two great
men. For long, I have delved into the Holy Bible; for years, I repeated
reading Marx’s biography. The two might seem much unrelated, but to
me they converged in perfect harmony, for they were common in their
immense love for humanity.
en I met Gustavo Gutiérrez and Leonardo Boff through books. Libera-
tion theology inspired me. e book titled “We Drink from Our Own
Wells” gave me a clear vision in my time of wandering. Boff’s ecological
theology was a turning point in my life; I chose to abandon university and
start organic farming. How I do vividly remember that moment of choice
28 years ago. I was determined to save agriculture from the exploitation of
capital and bring farming back to farmers. en I met another teacher:
Laozi (
老子
). I was too strong and stiff; Laozi taught me to relax. My burn-
ing aspiration gained the softness of water. Laozi taught me to make JADAM
organic farming like water; so that ultra-low-cost method will seep into farm-
ers. Water does not conlict yet it conquers. So I decided that JADAM’s sys-
tem should be SESE (simple, easy, scientiic, effective). Were it not for these
teachers, JADAM would not have been born. Farming, for JADAM, is not an
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inanimate entity, a collection of techniques; it is a living, feeling thing that
grows on the soil of religions, philosophies and humanities.
Making farming simple and easy might look like a harmless effort. But it
is not. When knowledge becomes simple and easy, people will acquire it.
When people acquire knowledge, they seize power. is is not something
that the power group would want. I have fear, rather not of my demise, but
of this knowledge being lost or destroyed. My life’s passion is focused in
giving this knowledge life; so that it will live on without me. In books,
workshops, lectures, articles and internet, I have, without reservation,
shared everything. is book is by no means perfect but has meticulously
collected up-to-date information and knowledge; they have been proven on
the ields; everything is a heartfelt record of our struggle, our life.
Our website en.jadam.kr has collected huge information on thousands
and thousands cases of success. JADAM’s methods might not be presented
in a scholarly fashion, but they are practical enough; they are powerful.
Our JADAM office consists only of a small number of staff, but the net-
work of JADAM is huge; we have tens of thousands of farmers on the ield,
experimenting, searching, developing, reporting back and sharing their
knowledge. at is how we advance. Farmers are the experts in farming;
not PhDs or professors.
How the state treats agriculture is critically important in determining the
industry’s position. If the state sees farmers as people in need of help, state
will have to increase spending and farmers lose their self-supporting capa-
bility. Such policy will only increase the cost of farming. I have seen too
many cases where taxpayers’ money would low into the pockets of fertil-
izer, pesticide and machine companies, and still leave farmers poor and ex-
cluded. Government is eager to put on awesome names for their policies
but they seldom beneit farmers. We have wasted too much time, so many
opportunities. State should protect the agricultural industry and farmers;
but farmers should not rely on the state. Farmers have the responsibility to
cultivate the power to survive on their own. Risk presents opportunity; ind
and drink from the well in you.
What JADAM ultimately wants to do is to bring farming back to farm-
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ers. If the method of farming that we propose were too difficult, our cause
would not hold. But JADAM organic farming is simple and easy. What is
simple and easy will be received by many; number means power. I hope
this number will grow across the borders of nations. I dream that the whole
world will inally see a change where the excluded regain their rights, the
weak seize power, and farmers become the masters of farming.
ere is no perfection in art. Farming as presented here in this book is
truly original and unique, but is not perfect. at is why we seek your par-
ticipation and feedback. Join as member in our homepage (en.jadam.kr);
take what you need and give back what you can; share your indings. We
want the farmers of the whole world to network, to share and help each
other, and together advance this knowledge.
One thing I have to note is that because the book was originally written
for Korean readers, some parts might appear irrelevant to readers of the
English version. I have considered deleting those portions, however, de-
cided to leave most of them because I felt that they would be useful for
farmers from other countries to read about, and empathize with the plight
of their Korean counterparts; likely, you will notice that the situation in
Korea in some ways resembles your own because we are all in the same sys-
tem. However, I have done my best to make pertinent adjustments and re-
visions so the book is suitable for English readers. I thank Rei Yoon,
director of international operations of JADAM and also -a principal re-
searcher, who has dedicated enormous time and effort in translating and
adjusting this book into English with particular attention to precisely con-
verting agricultural terms.
From deep in my heart, I welcome you to the JADAM movement. Let us
go together to a more beautiful world where people are once again in con-
trol of their own farming, save themselves and nature from exploitation,
and become more nature-like.
January 2016
Youngsang Cho
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