South Korean pheasants, kept on State game farms in the United 
States have remained as generally healthy as their Stateside cousins. 
It is probable that Korean pheasants are subject to the same diseases 
and parasites as are ringnecks in the United States and that their 
degree of resistance to these is comparable. 
Analysis of Competing Interests 
Relation to Agriculture 
Pheasant damage to agricultural crops in South Korea is about what 
might be expected from our ringneck in the United States, When the 
South Korean ring-necked pheasant population numbers are overly numerous 
crop damage complaints are often filed by the farmer. Where hunting is 
employed, large populations are soon reduced and agricultural damage 
complaints disappear. A sizable amount of agricultural damage is exag- 
gerated; the pheasant often is gleaning grain from the ground surface, 
This grain spilled on the ground would normally be lost to the farmer 
following the harvest. Legitimate damage complaints include the eating 
of green and ripening grain heads, digging for sweet potatoes, and taking 
soybeans and other legumes. Usually simple hazing of the birds from the 
fields plus hunting reduce these more seasonal crop losses, 
Usefulness 
As a source of food -- The South Koreans consider the ring-necked 
pheasant a real delicacy. South and East Gate markets in Seoul often 
have hundreds of wild-trapped but killed pheasants during December and 
January each year selling for as high as $1.80 each. A little bargain- 
ing can usually reduce this price, according to C. M. Fennell (9). 
As a game bird -- A new and challenging adventure awaits the hunter 
when he pursues the South Korean ringneck in its preferred habitat, 
Rough country of ridges covered with brush or small trees allows ample 
cover for this wary ringneck which prefers to hide and uses flight as a 
last resort. Added to the difficulty of shooting over rough terrain is 
a disappearing target of a bird plummeting down a hillside. Its sudden 
eruption from sparse cover, accompanied by a loud cackle, is enough to 
disturb many a pheasant hunter. This ringneck is considered by many 
who have hunted it to be one of the more exciting and challenging game 
birds to shoot, 
The most popular game bird in South Korea, it thrived and perpet- 
uated its breed often under severe habitat conditions, It is certainly 
as enjoyable and challenging to hunt as our ringneck in the United 
States. According to Delacour (8) the South Korean subspecies is 
slightly larger than our ringnecks. No figures are readily available 
on pheasant numbers harvested in South Korea. The yearly take could 
be sizable, however, to judge by the hunting interest shown by Armed 
Forces personnel stationed in South Korea. 
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