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South Korean 6-year red ginseng, root-grade 1
Global Rare Foods & Ingredients

South Korean 6-year red ginseng, root-grade 1

Steam-cured, sun-dried Panax ginseng roots from Korea's historic ginseng capital.

OriginGeumsan, South Korea
Indian subcontinentNo
CategoryGlobal Rare Foods & Ingredients
Retail price band$$$$ ($80–$220 per 300g box of premium heaven/地 (cheon/ji) grade roots)
Bulk / trade price bandWholesale/bulk root or extract: indicative $60–$150/kg depending on grade (cheon/ji/yang) and processing
Sourcing statusDossier researched from public sources — producer contact not yet established
Compliance statusPreliminary review complete (see below) — not yet legally verified
Request trade sheet More in Global Rare Foods & Ingredients
Dossier researched, photography pending. The sections below are drawn from the cited public sources. This is desk research, not yet verified by direct producer contact or legal counsel — treat pricing, compliance and provenance detail as a working draft for due diligence, not a final trade sheet.

Detailed study

Red ginseng (Hongsam) is Panax ginseng root harvested at 6 years of age — the point at which ginsenoside content peaks — then steamed and dried, which caramelizes and concentrates its active compounds versus raw (white) ginseng. Grading (cheon/天, ji/地, yang/良) is based on root shape, size and defect-free surface, with 'grade 1'/cheon representing the top tier.

Provenance & producer

Geumsan County in South Chungcheong Province has been Korea's principal ginseng cultivation and trading hub for over 1,600 years and hosts the country's largest ginseng market (Geumsan Ginseng Market) and an annual Ginseng Festival; roots are grown in rotated, shaded fields and processed at KGC (Korea Ginseng Corporation)-affiliated or licensed local facilities.

Market & pricing

South Korea is the world's leading red ginseng producer and exporter, with the Korean ginseng industry valued at well over US$1 billion domestically and exports concentrated in China, the US, Japan and Southeast Asia; demand is driven by nutraceutical, traditional medicine and functional-food buyers.

Compliance & export

Panax ginseng is not CITES-listed; Korean red ginseng is subject to Korea's Ginseng Industry Act grading/inspection standards and, for export, destination-country novel-food or dietary-supplement registration (EU novel food rules, US FDA dietary supplement labeling) — buyers should confirm the exporter holds a valid Geumsan Ginseng Market or KGC quality certificate.

Sources

Image status

A working reference photograph is in place, captured from a freely-licensed Wikimedia Commons source (File:Red ginseng.JPG). Confirmed present in Wikimedia Commons Category:Panax ginseng (also 'Korean ginseng-Hongsam-01.jpg' and 'Punggi-insam.jpg' in same category); licence is CC BY-SA per standard Commons upload for that category — verify exact licence tag before use. Treat this as a placeholder for marketing purposes: exact licence terms should be re-verified on the Commons file page, and original producer photography is recommended before final trade use.