The upcoming 2022 World Punggi Ginseng Expo in Yeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, aims to showcase a fresh aspect of the traditional Korean ginseng, the expo organizing committee said Wednesday.

Under the theme, “Ginseng, embracing the world and opening the future,” the expo will take place from Sept. 30 to Oct. 23., at the Punggi Ginseng Culture Pop-up Park in Yeongju.

Records of ginseng in Punggi date back to 1541 when Joo Se-boong, then governor of Punggi, after studying soil and weather conditions suitable for growing the herbal plant, collected ginseng seeds and began cultivating them in the area.

The expo aims to broaden the appeal of the root vegetable to a wider audience by collaborating with various industries, including the beauty, medical, health and bioscience-driven sectors. 

“With the pandemic gradually coming to an end, we hope the expo venue can serve as a fun and healthy experience for visitors from around the globe,” Lee Hee-beom, chairperson of the organizing committee, said at a press conference held at the Korea Press Center in Seoul. “We will also hold academic seminars with experts during the expo to boost our scientific knowledge of ginseng, and move beyond ginseng being thought of as food, to eventually develop new markets and visions.”

The expo will have five exhibition halls -- Theme Hall, Human Science Hall, Ginseng’s Future Hall, Ginseng Promotion Hall and Ginseng Trade Hall. Each hall will feature cutting-edge technologies and interactive media, according to the committee.

Festivals, music concerts and competition events will be held each day throughout the expo period.

An online metaverse space will open a month ahead of the expo, starting in August.

Details and the schedule for the expo can be found at its website, www.ginsengexpo.org.

By Kim Hae-yeon (hykim@heraldcorp.com)