▲ Hansol Farm / CEO Yeonok Gu

In Qing dynasty China, roe deer butt mushroom was a regular food on the emperor’s table alongside shark’s fin, swallow’s nest and sole of bear’s foot. Knowing the value of this roe deer butt mushroom very well, Hansol Farm CEO Yeonok Gu has farmed the mushroom for 20 years and become one of the experts in the field. 

Gu worked in Jinju City and moved to Sancheong County in 2003 to grow mushroom. She came to know about the effect of roe deer butt mushroom which is known to be good for stomach. She then had a poor digestion and the mushroom also was known to be profitable. 

She worked day and night and did everything that must be done to grow quality roe deer butt mushroom. Today, she harvests raw mushroom yearly 30 tons with 3 tons of dried mushroom from 7 cultivation rooms through one-stop cultivation system that covers everything from sowing and production to distribution and selling. 

All processes are done eco-friendly way and the mushrooms obtained Good Agricultural Products and a certificate for pesticide-free products. Hansol Farm differentiates its products by general drying method and freeze drying method to produce the very best quality roe deer butt mushrooms. 

Thanks to this differentiation and thorough production management, Hansol Farm won the excellence prize at the 5th Eco-Friendly Agricultural Products Competition held in 2014. In 2019, the company was chosen for ‘excellent local farm products home shopping promotion’ by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and created 35 million won (29,300 dollars) within 50 minutes of broadcasting at Gongyoung Shop. 

“Roe deer butt mushroom was an exclusive property of the emperor of China but Japan succeeded mass production in the 90s. In 1999, Shizuoka University professor Takashi Mizuno released his study that roe deer butt mushroom was effective for Alzheimer’s, cancer and diabetes.”

Currently, the products of Hansol Farm are sold at emart, Homeplus, Lotte Mart, NongHyup, King’s Club, Galleria Department Store and Choroc Village. The roe deer butt mushroom extract especially is popular among consumers. 

“The extract is made with ultimate mix of ingredients with all nutritional values intact.”

When asked about future plan, Gu said that she would pioneer overseas market so that more people can benefit from excellent nutritional values of roe deer butt mushroom she produces.