Bulky pick-up trucks and vans have arrived here and there at the market. Even before the noisy engine is turned off, a group of people get out their vehicles quickly. Although it’s still the early morning, the venue is already bustling with people from all across the nation. The market is already crowded with masses of merchants who’ve come to sell and customers who’ve come to buy the specialty of the region.
Ginseng is good for relieving hangovers. All kinds of food have ginseng in it. Anyway, it’s good for your health. So I was able to sell a lot this year.
The marketplace is permeated with the fragrance of the medicinal root because every store in the market sells ginseng. The nation’s best ginseng can be gathered at this venue. Geumsan, the home of ginseng, is greets the spring visitors.
Geumsan in South Chungcheong Province is located in the central region of South Korea. About two-and-a-half-hours drive from Seoul, the county is situated between the two streams stemming from the Geum River. Park Cheon-jeong, the head of the Geumsan Ginseng Agricultural Cooperative, explains.
Until 2005, the nation’s total ginseng produce amounted to some 15-thousand tons. But after expanding the ginseng farms since 2006, now the total amount of ginseng production has increased to about 25-thousand tons. The annual sales have increased by more than 30 percent. Geumsan is the trade center for all the ginseng from around the country. So, the county has become the center of distribution for the medicinal root.
Geumsan is already well-known for its high-quality ginseng, but it’s better for the visitors to drop by the “Geumsan Ginseng General Exhibition” first in order to get a handle on the powers of the medicinal herb. This is where visitors get a glimpse into the 15-hundred-year-old history of Geumsan’s ginseng. Here is cultural guide Kim Jeong-yun.
You can think of the exhibition as a venue that propagates the superiority of the marvelous medicinal ginseng and other medical herbs. The venue was refurbished after the 2006 expo. As you can see, visitors can learn the ginseng cultivation method and see the farm equipment that has been used to cultivate the wondrous root. Now agricultural machines are utilized.
Befitting its nickname “Medicinal Ginseng Museum”, it’s a multi-complex where visitors can learn everything about ginseng from the cultivation method, its efficacy, to the various ginseng dishes.
The items displayed in the front row are the winners picked at the ginseng contest. The King of Ginseng is placed in the middle and others on display are Mr. Ginseng and Miss Ginseng.
The articles on display draw interest from everyone regardless of age. As people go through the exhibit looking at the display, they start to understand why ginseng from Geumsan is so famous.
According to a group of professors’ research results analyzing the superior quality of ginseng, there are eleven proven efficacies. It’s good for relieving hangovers, promotes children’s brain activity, and improves vision.
Thanks to the large range of high and low temperatures and fertile soil, ginseng grown in Geumsan contains a superior organic compound that includes saponin and germanium.
- It’s very realistic and interesting. I’ve never seen it before. It’s interesting because Geumsan’s ginseng is known as the king of kings.
- We farm so didn’t know much about ginseng. But now that I’ve learned how ginseng is used in various dishes, the medicinal herb is drawing interest.
After listening and learning about ginseng, most visitors can’t wait to taste the wondrous herb. They hurry to Jungdo-ri in Geumsan-eup to sample some. This area dubbed the “street of ginseng” is lined with stores selling ginseng and other medicinal herbs. The area is crowded not only on the days when the market opens on every 2nd and 7th of the month but also on regular days. And “Geumsan Undried Ginseng Center” is the center of the market. Cultural guide Kim explains.
This is a traditional open market that was first formed in the area. The largest number of merchants flocks to this area. Fresh ginsengs are available both at the Undried Ginseng Center and the Ginseng Land. But this market is formed by individuals who are also the stockholders. Thanks to so many merchants, there are various kinds of fresh ginsengs. We can see all the ginsengs here.
Susam is undried, fresh ginseng. The dirt is carefully removed before it’s ready for sale. Some 100 merchants originally from Geumsan have opened a permanent market and have been selling them.
Geumsan ginseng is great. Where could we find better quality ginseng? Traditional open markets are the best place to buy superior ginseng. Before the Lunar New Year holidays, a lot of ginseng were sold as gifts, but these days people come to buy it and keep it themselves.
Even haggling prices for ginseng is fun at the market in Geumsan. People know they are buying the best product in the country. On days the market opens, the daily trade volume reaches about 150 tons.
It’s low-priced with good quality. We came to buy locally-produced ginseng. We come here from Seoul every year. In order to buy genuine ginseng from Korea, you need to come here. That’s why the products here are reliable. I give them to my daughter and son. The fragrance is great. It’s bitter, yet, tasty.
There are many kinds of susam, between four and six years old. For those who can’t come to the market, they can order with a simple phone call.
I’m sending it via the door-to-door delivery service. Since the customers order by calling, without checking the quality, I’m picking the good ones. Since they trust us, they have to be satisfied with the product when they receive the order.
As customers return home with a bag full of ginseng, the bitter sweet fragrance of ginseng accompanies their way back. The street linked to left side of the Susam Center is packed with over 1,000 stores dealing with not only ginseng but also medicinal herbs. Park U-cheol from the Geumsan Medical Herb Market Association talks about the venue.
About 80 percent of fresh ginseng produce is traded through this venue. It’s a grand-sized market with about 13-hundred stores in Geumsan. It’s the professional market selling ginseng and medicinal herbs. Yearly trade volume of ginseng amounts to about 20,860 tons which is worth 626 billion won.
The rural open market was originally formed in the 1940s to sell the medicinal herbs picked from nearby mountains. Now it has grown into the largest market specializing in medicinal herbs in the central region of Korea. It’s called “Geumsan Ginseng Medicinal Herb Market.”
The quality-control center checks the quality of the products. The label indicating the origin of production on the items sold here in Geumsan is 100 percent reliable. This is locally-picked herb called ogapi.
An average of over 300 types of fresh medicinal herbs picked in the native region, including Geumsan ginseng, are sold on the day the open market is held. Customers from around the nation come to the market in search of healthy medicinal herbs.
On the day when the market is opened, the area is packed with cars from all around the country. So it’s difficult for regular customers to get around the venue. Since 80 percent of the nation’s medicinal herbs are traded here, the place is bustling with people. Many foreigners visit the place as well.
As the visitors are tired from the bustling venue, they look for some healthy snacks that will boost their energy. Now they follow the savory smell of fried dish.
The healthy dish that is currently popular among young people is “ginseng fry” made from four-year-old ginseng. It also has received a great response among tourists. They love it. And it costs only 1,000 won per root. We offer the ginseng fritters to the visitors without any margin.
As Ginseng is dipped in yellowish batter and then fried, it transforms into the specialty of Geumsan. The special fry with a glass of ginseng liquor is enough to boost anyone’s energy.
- A lot of people ask if this is real ginseng. They even ask as I show the ingredients and fry them. Well, I can’t help if they ask like that.
- This is my second time tasting it. The fragrance of ginseng is great and it’s crispy. Although it’s not a familiar food, it tastes good.
- Ginseng is better than other things because it’s good for your health. When we come to Geumsan, we bring guests to have the special food. My husband also enjoys it.
The leisurely lunch allows the visitors to indulge again in the fragrance of ginseng.
Geumsan is the upper region of the clear river Geumgang. So, this kind of food became famous. If it was the lower reaches of the river, we could not have caught this kind of fish; and therefore this kind of food wouldn’t become popular. So, the right weather and the great environment enabled the locals to create the “Geumsan Eojuk”, or “Geumsan Fish Porridge.”
Fresh-water fish such as catfish and mandarin fish caught in the clear upper stream of Geumgang are ground, and it’s boiled with some slices of ginseng and wheat flakes. This is the very “Ginseng Fish Porridge.”
Because of the ginseng boiled in it, you can smell the fragrance of the medicinal herb. First of all, it’s easy to eat and it doesn’t have a fishy smell. Since ginseng is good for your health, it seems like I’m energized having the dish. Slices of ginseng are in the porridge. It’s delicious.
Now that they are stuffed with the specialty of the region, they are ready to discover some more attractive features of Geumsan. In order to succeed the tradition of Geumsan’s ginseng, another market was formed along the “street of ginseng and medicinal herb.” Here is Kim Il-hwan from Geumsan Ginseng International Market.
People from Geumsan have a greater skill in processing ginseng than other regions. That’s why about 100 items can be produced from just one kind of ginseng.
The “Geumsan Ginseng General Shopping Center” is like a department store that sells and displays diverse types of ginseng and medicinal herb-related items. In the neat facility comparable to the large department stores in the large cities, medicinal herbs that are otherwise hard to find in the city can be found.
- It’s called the “Geumsan Ginseng General Shopping Center” and here you can purchase all kinds of medicinal herbs and ginseng. As such it’s a comprehensive shopping center in a modern facility. It’s like a department store.
- It’s great to mix powder of red ginseng and yam with milk or yogurt. It improves the immune system and it’s also good for skin. Would you like to try some?
All kinds of ginseng liquor and health supplements are displayed on the shelf. It’s hard to pass by the interesting display without stopping. Customers buy various red ginseng-related items such as red ginseng candy and jelly and the like. The harmony between the tradition and this modern facility befit the reputation of the world’s best ginseng from Geumsan.
According to the legend, the medicinal herb ginseng was bestowed by heaven to the human world to realize a noble man’s prayer to cure his mother’s illness. Although ginseng is a material good given by the guardian spirit of the mountain, people came to better understand new life and human kind. The fragrance of the marvelous herb that carries on the spirit of ancient Baekje Kingdom’s ginseng continues to waft through Geumsan today.
출처: KBS WORLD
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