▲ Hamyang Sanyangsam / CEO Jeongsang Lee

(PowerKorea) Hamyang County is famous for sanyangsam, wood cultivated ginseng. The county has beautiful landscapes and boasts second to none clean water, clean air and natural environment which are ideal to grow this heaven-sent-gift as locals call. It is not surprising, therefore, that more than 80% of sanyangsam-based foods in the nation come from this county. 

“The soil of Hamyang is rich in germanium and sanyangsam in the region contains double the amount of saponin than normal ginseng. It is also noteworthy that sanyangsam farmers in the region use organic methods and mark clearly on each product the origin of the produce so that consumers buy with trust” says, Jeongsang Lee, CEO of Hamyang Sanyangsam. 

Lee went to New York to study in his 20s and ran a profitable clock business. But he met his wife whose hometown is Hamyang and they decided to settle down in the county. He got a position at a sanyangsam company in the local and was in charge of overseas trade. Remembering that sanyangsam-related products were none in New York, he started to see its potential and took over the business in 2015 and inaugurated as CEO the next year.

A Korean medicine book Dongui Bogam records that wild ginseng is warm in character, sweet in taste, helps immunity, removes toxin in the body, makes blood and lowers blood pressure. A Chinese medicine book Shennong Ben Cao Jing also records 7 medical effects of wild ginseng, and saponin, rich in ginseng, in particular, strengthens endurance against disease, recovers liver function and activates cholesterol metabolism. 

All products produced at Hamyang Sanyangsam contain no chemical or artificial substances according to Lee. He says that sanyangsam is grown naturally, so rich soil and clean natural environment are crucial. For this reason, sanyangsam is relatively more expensive than normal ginseng. 

In an effort to secure steady flow of profit, Lee developed 23 kinds of sanyangsam-based foods and work together with local farmers on contract cultivation for win-win. The products of Hamyang Sanyangsam, in fact, are being exported to the world including the US, Japan and HongKong and the company harvested more than $500,000 sales last year alone. 

Apart from his CEO’s role, Lee is serving as President of the Hamyang Agrifood Export Promotion Association. The association set sail in 2016 to promote export of local products and is running an antenna shop in LA, US. 

“Many local companies are having difficulty finding export channels due to the pandemic at the moment. So I and members of the association rolled up sleeves to do what we should do. The 2020 Wild Ginseng Anti-Aging Export Hamyang especially will be a great opportunity for ginseng farmers to find a channel and we will provide unsparing support” says Lee.

PowerKorea is an official partner of Herald Corporation. The magazine is distributed to the KOTRA business centers in the world. PowerKorea publishes latest news of government, Samsung, Hyundai and LG and endeavors to serve a platform to engage with people around the world.