Torrential rains swept across South Korea's farmlands in the central region last month, leaving more than 40 dead or missing, and large swaths of fields under water, including Kwon's 4,960 square-meters of greenhouses in the city of Nonsan.
"These watermelons were like my own children. They were supposed to be sent to market in 10 days, but they are rotting in the fields," Kwon said in the sweltering heat this week, showing the fruit rotting at her greenhouse farm.Neighbouring properties also suffered similar damage from the river bank collapse on July 16.
Kwon, who has been farming for 25 years, said it was the first time extreme weather conditions had caused such severe damage since she began growing watermelons 10 years ago. Farmers called for stronger preparations for global warming and asked the government to build more facilities to prevent damage from extreme climate changes.