» Livestock farmer's rally against the FTA with the U.S. on May 9.

The faces of farmers were grim like the cloudy sky. On May 9, about 5,000 livestock farmers gathered in front of the national government offices in Gwacheon, Gyeongi Province, to express their opposition to ratifying the free

trade agreement that has been negotiated between Korea and the United States. It now awaits ratification votes by the parliamentary bodies of both countries.

Pork farmers say they are currently struggling with a sense of alienation and a loss of ambition.

"The government seems to have abandoned pigs," said Lee Byeong-gyu, 50, who breeds some 2,000 pigs in Cheongdo, North Gyeongsang Province. "How do I do from now?" Na Gwon-man, 48, of Naju, South Jolla Province, said, "I'm considering whether to keep my ranch. Many farmers were going out of their ranches."

Fear among pork farmers has been growing since South Korea negotiated a free trade agreement (FTA) with the U.S. and resumed imports of the American beef. Pig ranchers fear pork could meet with the same fate.