Promoting the Geumsan World Ginseng Festival,
Export Consultation Fair Held
Director Jiheung Park: "An Income Stabilization System for Ginseng Farmers Is Needed"
Geumsan County (Governor Park Beomin) will host the "2025 Geumsan K-INSAM Export Consultation Fair" from September 18 to 20, under the supervision of the Geumsan Ginseng and Herbal Medicine Industry Promotion Agency, in celebration of the 43rd Geumsan World Ginseng Festival. The event will take place prior to the festival's opening ceremony.
This year's export consultation fair, held at the Geumsan Sports Complex, will match 33 buyers from 13 countries-including the United States, China, T?rkiye, Poland, the Czech Republic, Australia, Mongolia, Indonesia, and Singapore-with 27 ginseng product manufacturers based in Geumsan County for business consultations.
Kyunghee Choi, CEO of Myungwon, is conducting export consultations with overseas buyers. (Photo by Seokbong Mo)
The Promotion Agency began identifying buyers from various countries in the first half of the year to shorten the actual negotiation time and create a more proactive and efficient negotiation environment.
The pre-identified buyers held their first meetings with Geumsan-based ginseng product manufacturers at the Guangzhou Expo in China and the Kuala Lumpur Expo in Malaysia in June and July. These buyers have since expressed their intention to participate in this year's export consultation fair, demonstrating a strong commitment to importing Geumsan ginseng products.
Seungkeun Lee, CEO of Yeonriji Health Life, is conducting export consultations with overseas buyers. (Photo by Seokbong Mo)
Following the export consultation fair, a networking event will be held for buyers and local company representatives under the name "K-INSAM VIP WELCOME GALA of The 43rd Geumsan World K-Insam Festival," serving as the eve celebration of the 43rd Geumsan World Ginseng Festival.
The buyers are also scheduled to attend the opening ceremony of the 43rd Geumsan World Ginseng Festival on September 19, together with the Geumsan Culture and Tourism Department.
Jiheung Park, Director of the Geumsan Ginseng and Herbal Medicine Industry Promotion Agency, which organized the export consultation fair, stated, "Even after the export consultation fair, we plan to expand our export support initiatives for Geumsan K-INSAM by establishing an export network environment to facilitate final deals."
On-site that day, Myungwon (CEO Choi Kyunghee), a Geumsan-based ginseng product manufacturer, and Khan, a Polish company, signed an MOU for the export of Myungwon's collagen jelly and Aesabi red ginseng products, valued at 100,000 dollars.
Jiheung Park, Director of Geumsan Ginseng and Herbal Medicine Industry Promotion Agency (Photo by Seokbong Mo)
An impromptu on-site interview was also conducted with Director Jiheung Park.
Director Park emphasized, "As an alternative to the ginseng auction system, I would highlight safety and transparency. For safety, ginseng farmers must undergo 100% residual pesticide testing before shipping their ginseng. For transparency, we should introduce an electronic transaction system so that when farmers bring in their ginseng, it is immediately entered into the system on-site, making the distribution process transparent."
He added, "Currently, out of about 80 ginseng wholesalers, 15 have expressed their intention to participate in this system."
Director Park argued, "As the area of ginseng cultivation continues to decrease nationwide, the foundation of the ginseng industry is collapsing. There is a need to introduce an income stabilization system to ensure that ginseng farmers can cultivate a stable and basic area, thereby securing a certain level of income."
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