What Kind of Smart Farm Should Vertical Farming Become?
Vertical farming, which is poised to usher in a new era of agricultural innovation, continues to show significant potential for further development in various sectors in South Korea. While certain improvements remain necessary, this article focuses on key aspects that have already reached a mature stage but still require greater emphasis on Korea’s unique characteristics. It highlights particularly noteworthy strategic directions that merit further attention in advancing the nation’s vertical farming industry.
One of the key distinguishing features that can highlight South Korea’s unique strengths in vertical farming is the development of futuristic, efficient, and eco-friendly urban farming solutions. While many countries remain at the conceptual stage, unable to translate their designs into actual construction, continuous research and refinement in this area could enable Korea to surpass foreign efforts in vertical farm architecture.
For example, Sweden’s Plant Scraper proposed a 12-story smart farm facility, which narrows as it ascends. Floors 2 through 12 are dedicated to indoor farming, maximizing efficiency, while the ground floor houses a direct agricultural marketplace and offices for urban farming research. This large-scale vertical farm solution is designed to yield 300–500 tons of leafy greens and bok choy annually.
Similarly, Germany’s USVF designed an enormous 37-story vertical farm spanning 0.93 hectares, featuring designated floors for crop cultivation, environmental regulation, and waste management, each allocated in a structured ratio. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom and Japan continue to conceptualize large-scale urban vertical farm structures, reflecting a global trend toward integrating agriculture within metropolitan environments.
There are also technological avenues through which South Korea’s vertical farming can establish its distinctiveness. One crucial aspect is the scientific advancement required to regulate the nutrients in hydroponic systems, enabling the controlled enhancement of beneficial enzymes in agricultural products without causing adverse effects for consumers from a medical or biological standpoint. This is particularly important as misconceptions persist in Korean society that indoor-grown crops are inferior in taste and nutritional value compared to those cultivated in open fields or greenhouses.
Furthermore, when considering potential advancements deeply linked to domestic technologies, the AI smart farm stands out. Research on predictive simulations for crop yield using big data agriculture integrated with AI is already actively underway at Chungnam National University’s plant factory laboratory. In addition, the development of automated agriculture capable of detecting variations in cultivated crop types and sudden environmental shifts in real time to autonomously adjust indoor conditions would attract global attention.
Moreover, even from a global perspective, current technology still limits vertical farms to cultivating only a select range of hydroponically grown crops, such as leafy greens and lettuce. Expanding the variety of cultivable crops remains a noteworthy research focus. Among domestic companies, Nongshim Farm has successfully grown high-quality strawberries and spring onions, beyond leafy greens, as well as high-value crops such as hempseed(medicinal cannabis) and ginseng. The company continues to dedicate efforts to expanding the range of cultivable plant species within smart farm systems.
South Korea has yet to see widespread commercialization of vertical farming, particularly on a large scale, compared to other countries. This indicates that, domestically, vertical farming has not garnered significant attention relative to other research fields. However, by fostering greater awareness of sustainable agriculture and encouraging the integration of agriculture with technology for mutual advancement, South Korea has the potential to quickly emerge as a global leader in smart agriculture.
For example, Sweden’s Plant Scraper proposed a 12-story smart farm facility, which narrows as it ascends. Floors 2 through 12 are dedicated to indoor farming, maximizing efficiency, while the ground floor houses a direct agricultural marketplace and offices for urban farming research. This large-scale vertical farm solution is designed to yield 300–500 tons of leafy greens and bok choy annually.
Similarly, Germany’s USVF designed an enormous 37-story vertical farm spanning 0.93 hectares, featuring designated floors for crop cultivation, environmental regulation, and waste management, each allocated in a structured ratio. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom and Japan continue to conceptualize large-scale urban vertical farm structures, reflecting a global trend toward integrating agriculture within metropolitan environments.
There are also technological avenues through which South Korea’s vertical farming can establish its distinctiveness. One crucial aspect is the scientific advancement required to regulate the nutrients in hydroponic systems, enabling the controlled enhancement of beneficial enzymes in agricultural products without causing adverse effects for consumers from a medical or biological standpoint. This is particularly important as misconceptions persist in Korean society that indoor-grown crops are inferior in taste and nutritional value compared to those cultivated in open fields or greenhouses.
Furthermore, when considering potential advancements deeply linked to domestic technologies, the AI smart farm stands out. Research on predictive simulations for crop yield using big data agriculture integrated with AI is already actively underway at Chungnam National University’s plant factory laboratory. In addition, the development of automated agriculture capable of detecting variations in cultivated crop types and sudden environmental shifts in real time to autonomously adjust indoor conditions would attract global attention.
Moreover, even from a global perspective, current technology still limits vertical farms to cultivating only a select range of hydroponically grown crops, such as leafy greens and lettuce. Expanding the variety of cultivable crops remains a noteworthy research focus. Among domestic companies, Nongshim Farm has successfully grown high-quality strawberries and spring onions, beyond leafy greens, as well as high-value crops such as hempseed(medicinal cannabis) and ginseng. The company continues to dedicate efforts to expanding the range of cultivable plant species within smart farm systems.
South Korea has yet to see widespread commercialization of vertical farming, particularly on a large scale, compared to other countries. This indicates that, domestically, vertical farming has not garnered significant attention relative to other research fields. However, by fostering greater awareness of sustainable agriculture and encouraging the integration of agriculture with technology for mutual advancement, South Korea has the potential to quickly emerge as a global leader in smart agriculture.
Korea Institute of Planning and Evaluation for Technology in Food, Agriculture and Forestry, 「Domestic and International Trends and Development Directions of Vertical Farms」, 『2024-02, Industry, Technology, and Policy Trend Report』