Haenam County Surpasses 100 Billion Won in Water Kim Production for Two Consecutive Years

Record Sales Achieved Despite Price Drops and Mass Disposal

Haenam-gun, Jeollanam-do (Governor Myung Hyun-gwan) announced on the 15th that as of the 9th, the sales of raw Gim for the 2025 season had surpassed 115.3 billion KRW.

Notably, this not only exceeds last year's total sales of 113.8 billion KRW but also marks the achievement of over 100 billion KRW in sales for two consecutive years. The increase in sales is attributed to a significant rise of about 30% in raw Gim production compared to the previous year, with Haenam’s 2025 raw Gim production currently totaling 78,159 tons.

(The second from the left) County Governor Myung Hyungwan is inspecting seaweed with fishermen at the fish market. Provided by Haenam County

This year, stable sea conditions and the absence of disease during the initial seeding period are believed to have contributed to the production of high-quality Gim. In addition, the export of Gim has reached 1 trillion KRW for two consecutive years, and the number of export countries has expanded from 66 in 2010 to 122 in 2023, reflecting the growing international popularity of Korean Gim (K-Gim), which has significantly increased demand for raw Gim.

It is expected that the auction of raw Gim will continue until around the 23rd of this month, with both production and sales projected to increase further. The 2025 raw Gim production is particularly meaningful as it overcame challenges such as delayed seeding due to last year’s heatwave, a drop in auction prices and disposal caused by mass shipments in January, and ultimately achieved record sales.

In response to falling raw Gim prices, the county held countermeasure meetings with the Haenam County Council, Haenam Fisheries Cooperative, and the Gim Producers’ Association. As a result, they increased the budget for shipment control projects, swiftly allocating 240 million KRW to address the price decline.

As fishermen continued self-regulation activities such as reducing Gim facilities to control supply, public-private cooperation actively contributed to stabilizing raw Gim prices and increasing sales.

A county official stated, "We will continue to support sustainable Gim aquaculture production to improve the income of Gim farmers, and we will guide the early removal of Gim aquaculture facilities from farms where the 2025 season production has concluded."