Hamyang County hosts a month-long Wild Ginseng Expo from Sept.10~Oct. 10

The Hamyang County of Gyeongsangnam-do Province, some 171 miles southeast of Seoul, will host the 10 to Oct. 10 this year.
Hosted by the Gyeongsangnam-do Province and the Hamyang County, the Wild Ginseng Expo has been held each year. This year the theme of the event is "A Thousand Years of Wild Ginseng, Dream of Life Extension."
The Hamyang wild ginseng is widely known in Korea and in some countries for the story of Chinese Qin Dynasty’s Founding Emperor Shi Huang (B.C.259-210) who is known to have sent a special team of herb medicine specialists to an “Eastern Country” (Korea) to find ‘Bullocho’ (anti-aging elixir plant). Historical records of Hamyang County state the place that where Emperor Qin sent the Chinese team of herb doctors to find the anti-aging plant was the Hamyang County in Korea.

‘2021 Wild Ginseng Anti-aging Expo’ Poster
‘2021 Wild Ginseng Anti-aging Expo’ Poster

The event consists of about 70 programs with 20 themes in five categories, including exhibition directing, industrial exhibitions, academic conferences, performance events, and experience events, on the stage of Hamyang Sanglim Park and Hamyang Daebong Mountain Recreation Valley.
Hamyang, Gyeongsangnam-do, has Jiri Mountain and Deogyu Mountain, the center of “Baekdudaegan” Mountain Range, and is Korea's largest wild ginseng habitat.
By enjoying various contents and experiential programs linking wild ginseng and the anti-aging industry, can directly experience the value and efficacy of wild ginseng in real life and enhance their understanding of wild ginseng and strengthen global competitiveness of the anti-aging industry.
It is a good opportunity for Hamyang to promote not only as the center of the wild ginseng anti-aging industry, but also as a healing culture and ecological city.
The Hamyang Sangrim Park is the first venue of the Expo where you can feel and enjoy with the five senses.
The Sangrim Park, the first venue where the '2021 Wild Ginseng Anti-aging Expo Hamyang' will be held, is an artificial forest with the oldest history in Korea.
In this unique romantic place, visitors can enjoy online and offline content and various experience programs to see all things of wild ginseng and anti-aging during the Expo period.
The exhibition hall, which consists of 10 facilities, is operated concurrently with on-site events and non-face-to-face contents in response to the COVID-19 situation. .
The “Wild Ginseng Theme Pavilion” and “Medicinal Plant Pavilion,” where visitors can build background knowledge on wild ginseng and medicinal plants, and the “Life Culture Hall,” which presents the industrial value of wild ginseng and a vision for cultivating wild ginseng through the appearance of wild ginseng in our daily life, are operated at the same time as on-site exhibitions. An online exhibition in the form of a road view is also being operated through the website.
The existing permanent exhibition space was renewed, and temporary facilities were installed outdoors, such as the Wild Ginseng Specialties Hall, the Industry Exchange Hall, and the Mirae Video Hall, a themed exhibition hall to promote Hamyang's specialties.
In particular, in the ‘Future Video Hall’, under the theme of “Wild ginseng, an adventure toward a new millennium,” the 4D video will show wild ginseng found in the clean nature of Hamyang becoming a new drug to protect people's health.
It is expected to enhance the understanding and excellence of the wild ginseng anti-aging industry through content that stimulates the five senses that anyone can easily enjoy.
In addition, the academic conference for cultivating the wild ginseng anti-aging industry will be a place of exchange where domestic and foreign speakers can participate and strengthen global competitiveness through real-time broadcasting.
The Industry Exchange Hall, which is the export consultation and trade center for wild ginseng anti-aging products, is held simultaneously on and offline, including online non-face-to-face export consultations and online special sales exhibitions through linking with large shopping platforms (Naver, post office shopping, etc.).
Wild ginseng sales and distribution centers are equipped with 19 wild ginseng booths and 20 sales centers to display and sell wild ginseng both domestically and internationally.
The Expo has been prepared to help visitors see, feel, and relax through outdoor installation art, Bullowon Falls, shelter space, and wild ginseng experience.
Programs for family visitors to enjoy, such as a family experience yard, “Simmani (wild ginseng digger)” experience, horseback riding experience, and sturgeon experience, have been prepared.
In addition, the Expo was created for whole family members to have various anti-aging treatment experiences such as thermal therapy and anti-aging food prescriptions (detoxicating juice).
The Black Eagles Air Show that will decorate the Hamyang sky, the theme performance consisting of a parade around the expo site, as well as Hallyu performances, weekend special concerts, and global cultural performances are being prepared. People can participate in the important performances and events in real-time online.
Special features of Hamyang County:
Hamyang County is a typical clean town with 15 mountains over 1,000 meters in height such as Jiri-san and the Deogyu-san, which are connected to the Baekdudaegan Mountains which form the backbone.
In addition to its geographical advantage in the mountains, Hamyang's soil has rich germanium to make the region an ideal environment for various herbs.
As was briefly mentioned afore, according to Korean legends, Hamyang was the venue where China's Founding Emperor Qin Shi Huang sent a team of herbal medical specialists to look for ‘elixir’ plants to help him live ‘forever.’
The area's reputation as the source of variety of herbs with great medical effects is proven to exist as far back as the prehistoric era. Utilizing the advantage, Hamyang County promotes Wild Ginseng (Wood-Cultivated Ginseng) cultivation as the local government's major policy planting several tens of millions of Wild Ginseng in the area.
Hamyang Wild Ginseng Festival, as one of the few best well-being festivals in Korea, an opportunity to share health and love between family members while promoting Hamyang's Wood-Cultivated Ginseng to the global consumers.
The Hamyang county is widely known for its beautiful natural environment, which also offers convenient transportation connections to many parts of the Republic of Korea.
Hamyang is also rated as a futuristic and energetic region that is continuously developing and growing with its anti-aging and tourism industries, which are two of the major industries in the 21st century in Korea.
Moreover, Hamyang County’s clean, fertile natural resources offer many delicious agricultural and regional products.
Hamyang is a small city with a population of only 40,000 persons but the County officials claim that it holds limitless possibilities and the local government asks people to enjoy their tour of many wonderful features of Hamyang which says it is developing into a people-centered, anti-aging city.
Eight famous sceneries of the Hamyang County:

Scenery 1
Sangnim Four Seasons, which offer seasonal views of Sangnim, the oldest artificial forest in Korea.

Scenery 2
Geumdaeji-ri. The magnificent view of Jiri Mountain in front of Geumdae.

Scenery 3
Yongchu's extraordinary view: An extraordinary view of the Yongchu Valley and the Gibaek Mountain

Scenery 4
Hwarimpungnyu. Great natural views creating perfect harmony with old scholars' study dens (Nongwoljeong, Donghojeong, Geoyeonjeong (Pavilion) and Cheonggyeseowon with valley views of Namgyeseowon (Confucian School).

Scenery 5
Chilseonsiryu: Jiri Mountain’s Chilseonsiryu (valley) makes a great and unique scene in combination with mountain and fast-flowing water stream.

Scenery 6
Seoamseokbul (Stone Buddha): Quiet sceneries with Amazing Buddha statues in the old Buddhist temples in the mountains, e.g., Byeoksong and Seoamjeong Temples.

Scenery 7
Deogyuwonhae: Mysterious and magnificent Cloud Sea scenes in and around Deogyu  Mountains.

Scenery 8
Daebong Cheoljjuk: Beautiful spring scene made by endlessly long and exciting views of azalea blossoms from Baegun Mountain to Daebong Mountain.
In addition, there also is the Sangnim Park which is one of the oldest forests in Korea known as a famous place which was established by Choi Chi-won, a very famous scholar of the Silla Dynasty, during his terms as the mayor of Cheollyeong County.
Sangnim is a forest, protecting Wicheon River in the west of Hamyang-eup. Historical records indicate that the area was cultivated during the reign of Queen Jinseong of the Silla Dynasty (B.C.295-210), especially by noted Korean Scholar Choi Chi-won (the then governor of Hamyang County).
At that time Wicheon River flew down in the center of Hamyang-eup, and then this area was badly damaged by flood. He built a bank, changed the water route of it like now.
Also, he built a bank in the riverside, planted trees through it and set up a forest, continuing till now. At that time this forest was called by Daegwallim.
By preserving this well was able fairly to block the damage of flood. After that the middle of it was ruined, so it was divided Sangnim and Halim like now. Halim area with a settlement was destroyed.
Now only some of the trees are leaving the traces of it. Sangnim preserves the shape of the old days. Here is one of the oldest artificial forests historically well known in Korea. Now, this place plays roles such as an ornamental forest, a recreation forest and a studying space to research plants growing in the forest.
Sangnim's beauty is spread all year round. Spring's young and light green, heavy and deep summer forest, autumn's colorful chroma and white snow's quietness in winter.
The forest is widely rated as being ‘really wonderful,’ especially during the summer months, when the visitors can relax and lie down under the trees and refresh themselves. Also, the trail in the forest of Sangnim provides the visitors with a place to share affection among the family members and young lovers.
Sangnim is populated with approximately 120 different kinds of trees in its more than 198 square meters of land and along the 1.6-kilometer-long bank provides a great place for children's education of nature.
Traditional Korean house experience:
Hamyang County offers an opportunity provided to visitors to experience daily lives in traditional Korean houses as a new tourism resource along with visits to local cultural places as a part of Hamyang County's a re-visit program.

저작권자 © The Korea Post 무단전재 및 재배포 금지