'1kg at 1.45 million won' Domestic Mushrooms... Why Can't You Buy Them Even If You Pay This Year?

Poor Crop Yield Due to Heatwave and Insufficient Rainfall
First Auction of the Year Scheduled for the 18th... Latest in History

One of the popular Chuseok gift items, Gangwon-do Yangyang Songi mushrooms, has completely disappeared instead of capitalizing on the holiday demand. This is due to poor Songi mushroom harvests caused by this year’s record-breaking heatwave.

On the morning of the 12th, two days before the Chuseok holiday, Yonhap News reported on the situation at a Songi sales stall in Yangyang Market, Yangyang-gun, Gangwon. Usually, Yangyang Songi mushrooms start their auction in early September every year. Over the past three years, the first auction dates for Yangyang Songi were September 11 last year, September 7 in 2022, and September 6 in 2021, mostly taking place before the Chuseok holiday. However, this year, the Yangyang-Sokcho Forestry Cooperative could not set an auction date even before the Chuseok peak season and finally scheduled the first auction for the last day of the Chuseok holiday, the 18th. This is the latest first auction date ever recorded, and considering the trend of Songi harvesting, it may be delayed further. Generally, Songi auctions proceed when the production volume reaches 30 kg or more.

Wild Yangyang Pine Mushrooms
Photo by Yonhap News

The delay in this year’s Songi auction is due to spores not growing properly because of abnormal high temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius during the day and severely insufficient rainfall. Last month, the total rainfall in the Yangyang area was 35.5 mm, less than one-tenth of the 431 mm recorded during the same period last year. Moreover, the average temperature was about 2 degrees higher than last year, negatively affecting Songi growth.

Songi harvester Yoon Gwang-ok (68) told Yonhap News, “I have never seen such a poor Songi harvest like this year,” adding, “Usually, we start harvesting Songi in early September, but this year there is none at all. In over 30 years of selling mushrooms, this is the first time I have not been able to sell Songi during the Chuseok peak season.” At Yoon’s stall, Sanghwang mushrooms were taking the place of Yangyang Songi, and nearby merchants reluctantly sold frozen Songi mushrooms imported from Tibet and other places.

Due to the shortage in production, Songi prices are expected to soar. Last year, Yangyang Songi reached a record high price before Chuseok, with first-grade (1 kg) selling for 1,562,000 KRW. The total auction volume last year was 5,322 kg, amounting to 1.86276 billion KRW. Sellers and harvesters who have already given up on the holiday demand are now worried about the Yangyang Songi Salmon Festival, which will be held from October 3 to 6 along the Namdaecheon area in Yangyang. The event organizers plan to replace some Songi-related experience programs, such as harvesting, with ecological experience programs.