Preparation for This Year's First Harvest of Fresh Barley Rice in Gangjin

Early June Harvest Begins, Processed Foods Sales Including Oatmeal, Seonsik, and Gochujang

[Gangjin=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-su] The newly harvested barley from Gangjin, Jeonnam is ripening green under the warm sunlight and sea breeze, with harvest expected in early next month.

Gangjin County is a place where the highest quality barley is produced due to its mild climate and abundant sunlight. Currently, barley is cultivated on 900 hectares by 250 farms, and the new barley harvest will begin in early next month.

The county is continuously promoting various support projects and research and development to foster excellent barley as a representative local specialty product.

Last year, a geographical indication collective mark was registered with the Korean Intellectual Property Office, granting legal rights to protect the intellectual property of Gangjin barley.

In particular, at the beginning of this year, the Gangjin Barley Rural Convergence Industry Zone was the only one in Jeonnam to be finally selected in the rural convergence industry zone project announced by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, with a total project cost of 3 billion KRW to be invested from 2022 to 2025.

The plan is to establish a barley zone that integrates primary, secondary, and tertiary industries, including the construction of barley processing facilities, development of a joint brand, product marketing, and development of experiential tourism programs.

Barley is excellent for solo meals; when mixed with rice and washed before cooking, it has a chewy and popping texture. Additionally, Gangjin County has developed and is selling various processed products such as oatmeal, grain powder, red pepper paste, and rice cakes to make the health-functional barley easily accessible to consumers. Through this, sales of 1.5 billion KRW were achieved last year.

Meanwhile, barley is known as one of the world's top 10 superfoods, rich in protein, calcium, and essential amino acids. It contains a large amount of beta-glucan, which is excellent for lowering blood sugar and blood cholesterol levels and is also known to be effective in boosting immunity.

Gangjin=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-su