Jeonbuk National University Young Farmer "Try Eco-friendly Blueberries"

Promotion and Sale of 3 Eco-Friendly Cultivated Blueberry Varieties

Agricultural Startup Specialization Project Team, Fostering Incubating Models

A student from Jeonbuk National University (President Yang Obong), who dreams of becoming a future young agricultural entrepreneur, has started promoting and selling blueberries grown eco-friendly by themselves.

According to the Jeonbuk National University Agricultural Startup Specialization Project Group (Director Hwang Inho) on the 7th, the horticulture (ONE-YEAH) cooperative (hereinafter referred to as the cooperative), nurtured as an incubating model, is composed of undergraduate students from the College of Agricultural Life Sciences.

This cooperative was fostered by the Jeonbuk National University Agricultural Startup Specialization Project Group as an incubating model for agricultural startup clubs, aiming to strengthen practical skills such as horticultural crop cultivation, processing, sales, and promotion for agricultural startups, as well as job creation.

On the 7th, the Jeonbuk National University student farming group "Moobli," who dream of becoming young farmers, celebrated by selling their first blueberry harvest of the year to local citizens at the Geonji Plaza of Jeonbuk National University.
[Photo by Jeonbuk National University]

On this day, the students set up a booth near Geonji Plaza at Jeonbuk National University and sold the first harvested blueberries of the year to local citizens while promoting their project. The blueberries were grown eco-friendly by the crop group ‘Moobli’ at the university’s affiliated farm without using pesticides or fertilizers, inside a vinyl greenhouse.

Three varieties of blueberries were sold. The characteristics of each are as follows: Shintilla has a very high sugar content of 16-18 Brix. Star has a strong sweetness and no sourness, resulting in a good texture. Emerald has a stronger sweetness than sourness and displays a deep color. All three varieties are large-fruited types with big pulp.

Hwang Minhyuk, head of the Moobli crop group, said, “We are steadily working while receiving on-site mentoring from senior mentors who succeeded in startups after graduation regarding cultivation environment setup and management techniques. Although we started with three varieties today, we plan to add four new varieties in the future, so we ask for your great interest and support.”

Lee Jungoo, deputy director of the Jeonbuk National University Agricultural Startup Specialization Project Group, stated, “Students dreaming of agriculture within the school gather to discuss, research, and grow to efficiently produce healthy agricultural products,” adding, “We will spare no necessary support so that they can realize their agricultural dreams.”

Meanwhile, the Jeonbuk National University Agricultural Startup Specialization Project is an educational program by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Korea Agency of Education, Promotion and Information Service in Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, providing specialized theoretical and practical field knowledge through specialized courses and other programs for students preparing for employment or startups in livestock and horticulture fields. Five universities nationwide participate.

Currently, Jeonbuk National University has been actively operating the Agricultural Startup Specialization Project for eight years. The seven crop groups being nurtured are active in fruit trees, vegetables, and floriculture fields. The crop groups are Moobli, New Jinsubak, Baekbanjip, Irom, Cheol-ine Red Strawberry, Grape Seed Oil, and KVS (Korea Vanilla Subiet). The cultivated items are diverse, including blueberries, figs, apple watermelons, passion fruit, succulents, strawberries, grapes, and vanilla.