Harvested ginseng being naturally dried at Korea Ginseng Corp.'s production facility in Wonju, Gangwon Province (KGC)

ICHEON, Gyeonggi Province/WONJU, Gangwon Province – On an autumn morning in October, a bustling ginseng harvest was underway in the ginseng fields of Icheon, Gyeonggi Province.

Workers were busy sorting ginseng unearthed by tractors, as roots that had been buried for years finally surfaced, ready for the season’s harvest, which is between September and November. Kim Il-bong, 65, whose family has managed these ginseng fields for three generations, said he has been exclusively partnered with the Korea Ginseng Corp., the nation’s top ginseng manufacturer, since 1973.

"We have been farming around 50 fields covering 120,000 pyeong (about 40,000 square meters) for three generations now. I believe there is no crop as sensitive to climate and care as ginseng," Kim said.

According to Kim, ginseng farming requires almost eight years of dedication – two years of nurturing the soil and six years of growing ginseng. During the whole process, he meets with KGC staff on a regular basis to discuss quality control and improvements for adapting to warmer temperatures.

Kim Il-bong is a third-generation farmer in a ginseng-growing family based in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, which has supplied ginseng to Korea Ginseng Corp. since 1973. (Kim Hae-yeon/ The Korea Herald)

This close partnership with local farmers is the key to ensuring the top quality of KGC’s premium red ginseng brand JungKwanJang.

"With this contract farming initiative that we pertained to, farmers can focus solely on cultivation without worrying about sales or marketing, while KGC can reliably procure high-quality ginseng. Consumers, at the end of the day, buy the JungKwanJang products with the best quality,” a KGC official said.

Then, the best-quality six-year-old ginseng is sent to KGC’s production plants, where stringent hygiene and quality control guide every step, from processing to packaging.

At KGC’s Wonju factory in Gangwon Province, the air was thick with the rich aroma of red ginseng, intensified by full-scale production for the harvest season.

The plant, equipped with artificial intelligence and Internet of Things technology, produces some 290 million ginseng packets every year. The facilities have also gained several food safety certifications at home and abroad, paving the way for JungKwanJang’s global expansion. In 2014, the plant also obtained halal certifications targeting Middle Eastern markets.

"We conduct over five rounds and 430 types of safety checks before any product is released," a factory official said. "Foreign food safety representatives also show great interest in our quality management," he added, saying that delegations from China, Indonesia and many other Asian countries recently visited the factory to observe the ginseng production and quality control system.

This year marks the 12th anniversary of JungKwanJang’s top-selling Korean Red Ginseng Extract Everytime line, a stick packet-type product that has greatly enhanced the accessibility of red ginseng products. Since 2012, the Everytime line has sold an accumulated 40 million packets, with sales hitting 1.3 trillion won ($1 billion).

JungKwanJang's Everytime red ginseng products are displayed at the shelves of a Sprouts Farmers Market in the US. (KGC)

The product has also hit the shelves of major retailers in the US, China, Japan, Southeast Asia and Europe, and it has become a popular pick for tourists at duty-free shops here.

“Foreign consumers offer positive reviews, citing red ginseng’s all-natural, caffeine-free and gluten-free qualities, aligning with global health trends." the KGC official said. The company has continued efforts to diversify the flavors of the product to meet foreign demand better, he added.

In the meantime, red ginseng is recognized for its health benefits, including boosting the immune system and improving brain function. More recently, JungKwangJang found that its red ginseng products also help lower blood sugar levels in its own research work. The findings also received official recognition from Korea’s Ministry of Food Drug Safety earlier this month.

Based on the findings, JungKwangJang plans to launch a new product line, GLPro, specializing in managing blood sugar levels, in a bid to meet the growing interest in diabetes care.

“We will continue our research work on red ginseng and its health benefits and contribute to the well-being of people around the world,” the official added.