The yearly trade volume of ‘chullan’ (the best orchid in the East) in Koreais estimated to be US$134 million. Due to the high market demand, it is not rare to see chullan farm houses nowadays. Chullan is grown around the mid-southern part of Korea and there are around 30 chullan growers in Hapcheon County alone. Also, a number of weekly chullan auctions attract tens to hundreds of chullan lovers. It is noteworthy that the revised Urban Agriculture Actincludedchullan in the agricultural produce from last year and the market, as a result, is vibrant more than ever. Monthly <Power Korea> met Kim Nam-du, President of the Korea Oriental Orchid Association, and heard about the story.

▲ Kim Nam-du, President of the Korea Oriental Orchid Association

Q. Chullan has around 40 years of history in Korea.
A. It has. But the market is not that sound. I sense that the current market might compare with the Tulip mania where the price reached extraordinarily high levels and then dramatically collapsed; people poured their money in tulip on believing that it would make a lot profits like people today are drawn into stock fever. Traditionally speaking, orchid in the Orient was regarded as symbols of scholars and friendship. From 4 to 5 years ago, the tradition seemed to be lost and people started to see it as ‘profitable item’. 

Q. How serious is it?
A. It is worrying that people pour tens of thousands of dollars just for a blade of orchid grass without knowing that orchids easily die. It wasn’t only me worrying about this but the members of the Korea Oriental Orchid Association. At the end of the day, it will be the simple orchid lovers who will be affected the most by this phenomenon. 

Q. Any solutions?
A. It is very important people change the way to see orchid. Like I said before, it should be a pure hobby than making profits. Personally, I’ve paid attention to ‘Lazy Flower Pot’since last year. It is a good way to appreciate plant growing as it also purifies the air in the room. One can manage the pot with only 1/20 water when compared to normal flower pots. 

Q. What must be done to create sound orchid growing culture?
A. It is interesting to know that the size of the Korean floricultural industry reduced by half while people’s interest in chullan has grown significantly. Generally speaking, if an industry is to develop, balance is very important. Leaning to one side can cause side effect and it does not affect the whole industry positively at the end of the day. Again, our ancestors knew how to appreciate orchid and how to take care of them. If I add one more thing, it will be helpful if the government gives a necessary support to promote orchid industry on DNA base if we are to draw a bigger picture together for the future. 

Lazy Flower Pot
Lazy Flower Pot is the world’s first flower pot that has three functions: appreciation, air-purification and moisturization. It servers many plants including chullan and you can place anywhere whether it is your house or office. 

Im Dae-hyun, who has grown more than 1,000 pots of Korean chullan for the last 30 years, gives his testimony “My father loved growing orchid and so do I. I started with orchid and then opened my eyes wide to chullan. It wasn’t easy at first but knowing Lazy Flower Pot removed all of my worries as well as the hassles that follow when growing plants.” Lazy Flower Pot lets you grow a number of plants at once with only spraying the water every 10 to 20 days. It is notable that Lazy Flower Pot recently succeeded growing bean sprouts and ginseng. Bean sprouts and ginseng are difficult to grow but you can grow both of them with just little amount of water at Lazy Flower Pot. 

Ko Suk-hwa, CEO of Lazy Flower Pot, said “We are spreading the excellence of Lazy Flower Pot to the world over Korea. I feel like years of our research has finally see the recognition from the people and we will keep doing our best to make it a global hit.” The pots used for Lazy Flower Pot is limitedly produced by Korean master potters to secure esthetic beauty alongside functionality.