At a duty free shop in downtown Seoul, Japanese tourist are looking around a red ginseng store.

- I’ve been taking concentrated ginseng extract. I ran out of my 3-month supply, so I came here to buy it. But unfortunately it’s been sold out here. It tastes really bitter, but I take it anyway for my health.
- I take it when I feel tired or a cold coming on. I feel better afterward.

They claim that red ginseng, called “hongsam” in Korean, kept them healthy and more energetic. That’s why red ginseng is at the top of their shopping lists when they come to Korea.

The Korean red ginseng market is growing exponentially, about 40% per year. The size of the red ginseng market is estimated to be around 1.4 trillion won, approximately 1.23 billion U.S. dollars. Foreigners have become the most rapidly-growing and vocal advocates of red ginseng’s effectiveness, as shown by the ever-increasing export of Korea’s iconic health supplement. Here’s Mr. Seo Jang-yeol of Korea Tobacco and Ginseng, a public corporation producing Jeonggwanjang.

As of 2011, the domestic sales of hongsam recorded 770 billion won and its overseas sales reached 140 billion won, 123 million U.S. dollars. For the past five years the hongsam market in Korea showed an annual average growth of 13%, and the growth rate of red ginseng sales overseas stood at 25%. Red ginseng revenues grew from 46 billion won in 2007 to 140 billion won in 2011. What stands out is in overseas export in which Korea’s red ginseng export increased about 66% in the year between 2010 and 2011.

A 66% increase in red ginseng export illustrates the medicinal plant’s popularity among foreigners. Popularity of the Korean hongsam is particularly high in China, the largest hongsam export market. This is why the red ginseng section in duty free shops is always crowded with Chinese tourists. Here’s a hongsam shopper from China.

- China is also known for ginseng, especially the ones from the Manchuria region. But Korean ginseng is more popular. China had red and white ginsengs, but Korean ginseng is of better quality. Ginseng is Korea’s signature item. It’s very effective for people who get cold easily and have poor chi circulation. It’s also very good for young women or old people.

Ginseng cannot be grown for at least ten years in the land that once cultivated ginseng, because ginseng is known to strip nutrients from the ground while growing and leave the land infertile. That means, in reverse, the energy and nutrients of the land are absorbed into the ginseng, making the bitter roots that much more precious and healthful. Ginseng is not Korea’s propriety, but grown also in China, Japan, and Thailand. But unlike the variety found in Korea, foreign ginseng varieties are different in their medicinal qualities. Here’s Dr. Song Yong-beom of the Research and Development Department of Korea Tobacco and Ginseng.

Ginseng is found even in the west as well as in Thailand, China, and Japan. But Korean ginseng contains more saponin and other chemical substances than other varieties. Korean ginseng is particularly rich in polysaccharide, which is known to boost immunity and fight cancer. This is why the Korean variety is priced higher.

Hongsam is reputed to be a panacea even among foreigners. Here’s Mr. Seo Jang-yeol of KT&G.

Kimchi and ginseng are Korea’s iconic foods, and hongsam is a ginseng product that underwent a special preservation method. It is known as Korea’s signature health supplement and cure-all, even to foreigners. We’ve been exporting it as a panacea. Even the Latin name for the ginseng genus is Panax, which means panacea. It’s not surprising that ginseng is a highly valued health supplement even in foreign countries.

As the medicinal benefits of red ginseng became more widely known, Korean hongsam export expanded beyond China and Taiwan to Europe, North America, Australia, Turkey, and Vietnam.

In the west we established a corporation in the United States to expand the ginseng sales. Starting in 2011, we entered the ethnic Chinese market in Vietnam and have seen a rapid growth there. This year, we are trying to market ginseng-based alcohol and other new products to appeal more to the American and European consumers. We are looking to hammer out deals with France and the United Kingdom to expand sales in Europe. Now that Korean pop music is getting more popular in Europe, I believe we’ll see increased ginseng sales there as well.

It is encouraging to hear that westerners have become more accepting of the red ginseng’s efficacy. But many of them are still confused by the different kinds of ginseng available in Korea. Here’s Dr. Song Yong-beom of KT&G to explain the differences among hongsam, susam, and sansam.

The difference among different ginseng types lies in their manufacturing processes. Susam, meaning watery ginseng, is preserved in the way the ginsengs were harvested from the field, without drying. Hongsam, meaning red ginseng, is made by steaming and then drying the raw ginseng. The color of the ginseng turns dark reddish after this process, hence the name. Sansam, or mountain ginseng, refers to the ginseng not grown in the farm, but found growing wild in the mountains.



Hongsam gets its name from the reddish hue gained after drying the ginseng in a traditional fashion. The real value of hongsam can be found in this process. Here’s Dr. Song Yong-beom again.

When susam is harvested from the field, the skin is not peeled, but just washed. Then the ginseng is steamed with water vapor and then dried naturally to make hongsam. During this process, phytochemicals and other substances not found in other types of ginseng are produced. These substances are what make hongsam better for our body.

It takes much time and care to make hongsam. The processes of harvesting, steaming, and drying are all time-consuming, but for the maximum effectiveness, only six-year-old ginseng roots are used to make hongsam. Here’s Mr. Seo Jang-yeol of KT&G to explain more.

The competitiveness of Korean ginseng lies in the fact that only six-year-old ginseng roots are used. Scientists say that the six-year-old ginseng roots contain the highest levels of saponin and thus more beneficial and popular. Ginseng is particularly susceptible to disease and pest between four and six years, so it takes a certain technical finesse to raise ginseng into its sixth year. Jeonggwanjang, a line of ginseng products officially authorized by KT&G, is highly valued because the Jeonggwanjang products are made with six-year-old ginseng roots. Chinese ginsengs tend to die out after their fourth year, so Chinese products are made from four-year-old ginseng roots, which are not as good as the six-year-old ones.

The technological know-how of cultivating six-year-old ginseng is owned only by Korea. Some ginseng aficionados buy unprocessed ginseng roots to reap the maximum benefit.

Ginseng roots are classified into three grades – heaven grade, earth grade, and good grade. By volume, the good grade ginseng roots sell the most, but the most sought-after ones are those in the heaven grade. Only one percent of the annual ginseng harvest is classified as the heaven grade. It’s very rare, but extremely high-quality. In China a single heaven grade ginseng roots can go for as high as ten thousand U.S. dollars.

Korea has been making hongsam since the Goryeo era, one thousand years ago. Ancient records say that hongsam was first made around the year 1,080, during the reign of Goryeo’s 11th king, Munjong. Hongsam production was overseen by a government agency during the Joseon period and laws governing its production were proclaimed in the 32nd year of King Gojong’s reign. These records show how long hongsam has been serving as Korea’s top health supplement and why Koreans have trusted their health in the red ginseng.

- I like hongsam. I like the hongsam extract, the hongsam pills, and candied hongsam. I eat hongsam when I’m tired. It certainly makes me feel better, less fatigued, and more energetic. The six-year-old hongsam is the best. It makes me feel stronger.
- Hongsam is great. It boosts my energy. My daughter buys it for me every holiday. I’m 72-years-old, but I feel great. Hongsam is really good for my health.

Hongsam comes in a variety of forms – concentrated extract, powdered, and in capsules. Some are made into hongsam candies and jellies. In an attempt to draw even the younger crowd, who dislike the bitter taste of ginseng, coffee shops around the country add sugar and milk to hongsam extract and make hongsam lattes or hongsam frappes. Even more amazingly, now available are hongsam-based skincare products.

This skincare brand is known to use six-year-old ginseng roots as its main ingredient. Here’s Ms. Kwon Su-kyeong, manager of a Donginbi cosmetics store.

Saponin in hongsam is proven to be effective in anti-aging and anti-wrinkling of the skin. Over the past forty years, we studied the ways to combine high doses of pure hongsam in our products to produce the best results. Hongsam skincare products contain beneficial substances such as saponin and polysaccharides most abundantly found in six-year-old ginseng roots. Our products seep deep into the pores to make your skin look younger and firmer.

In last September a hongsam spa opened in the affluent Samseong-dong neighborhood of Seoul. Here’s the Jeonggwanjang spa manager Park Se-eun.

The hongsam spa is to enrich all your five senses. We use highly concentrated hongsam oils and skincare products to provide you with premium care, relaxation, and beauty. A hongsam treatment boosts your immunity and soothes your skin. Hongsam extract is massaged all over your body before you relax in the sauna, and then hongsam oil is used to relax your muscles. We highly recommend the hongsam treatment.

The soothing aroma of ginseng permeates the spa from the entrance. The spa is always busy with Japanese tourists during the weekends, but the biggest clienteles during the weekday evenings are workers from the nearby office buildings.

- My friends recommended this hongsam spa. They poured the hongsam extract in the water so I can smell it all the way. Getting a hongsam massage made me feel really healthy and relaxed. It feels different from the ordinary aroma therapy.
- I used to have a lot of job-related stress. But after I got hongsam spa treatments, my skin improved and I don’t feel so stressful. My body feels renewed.

As people grow more health-conscious, hongsam’s popularity in all regions of the world grows as well. Hongsam is now a favorite health supplement of not only Koreans, but of many around the globe.