Chungcheongnam-do

The World Ginseng Expo, Geumsan, Korea will be held for 24 days from Sept. 22 to Oct. 15, 2006. With theme, ‘Ginseng--Root of Life’, academic and commercial events will be held. There will be exhibitions, and performances, and healthy living in the global village will be promoted. The Organizing Committee commenced its works last year preparing for an anticipated 660 thousand visitors and more than 80 participating firms from more than 15 countries.

Geumsan, where the largest amount of ginsengs are being produced and distributed in Korea

A Healthy World Opened with Korean Ginseng

The World Ginseng Expo, Geumsan, Korea will be held with the theme of ‘The Root of Life’ in 2006. The site of the expo will start to be constructed in Oct. this year. The total area 425,700m2 incorporates a main event stage, a sub event stage, and a ginseng and medicinal herb market.

The main event stage will be constructed with six indoor pavilions including ‘Root of Life, Ginseng Pavilion’, ‘Ginseng Industry Pavilion’, ‘Ginseng Exhibition Hall’, etc., and various concepts including symbolizing sculptures, a picnic spots, etc. Then you will be able to survey the current state of international ginseng industries at a glance.
In ‘The Root of Life, Ginseng Pavilion’, you will enjoy 3D images on the ways ginseng affects the human body, the development and vision of ginseng, and a video message about what ginseng gives us.

In ‘the Ginseng Industry Pavilion’, domestic and overseas ginseng products will be exhibited so as to promote the exchange of new techniques.

The ‘Ginseng Exhibition Hall’, will have a global heritage exhibition corner, a ginseng and medicinal herb corner, a healthy corner, and a Sangdo corner.

‘Forest of Wellbeing’, planned to build in the exterior part of the main event stage, will have a health experiencing pavilion, a ginseng food pavilion, a pavilion of plant cultivating techniques, and a picnic spot that will provide a comfortable resort area.

‘Ginseng and Medicinal Herb Market’, which will be open with free of charge, will have about 1,200 stores of ginseng and medicinal herbs. The largest international market in the world which will include international ginseng markets, white ginseng centers, and traditional ginseng market will be placed there. Opportunities are given to experience ginseng fragrance, and medicinal effects during the expo period.

Further, various kinds of events including performance of Nanta, a star concert, a world folk performance, a mime and a magic show, picking ginseng, cooking ginseng cuisine, experiencing a cattle cart, etc. will be performed everyday during the expo period.

An international ginseng symposium will be held at ‘Geumsan Dalakwon’ for four days from Sept. 26, in which many ginseng scholars from the world will participate and present more than 150 papers that will provide an opportunity to identify the excellent properties of Korean ginseng scientifically.

‘Root of Life, It is Ginseng’, The World Will Know Its Properties

How will the main event stage be constituted?
On the main event stage of the 2006 World Ginseng Expo, Geumsan, Korea, the following facilities will be built ; ‘Root of Life, Ginseng Pavilion’ that will show the theme of the expo at a glance, Ginseng Industry Pavilion that will exhibit and trade ginseng products, Geumsan Ginseng Exhibition Hall that will exhibit the future of Geumsan ginseng, and Ginseng Distribution Center that will exhibit excellent domestic ginseng products and lead research and development of new techniques. ‘Ginseng and Medicinal Herb Market’ that will be opened free of charge will have about 1,200 stores of ginseng and medicinal herbs, which is the largest international market in the world incorporating international ginseng markets, white ginseng centers, and traditional ginseng market, in which a space for experiencing ginseng fragrance and medicinal effects will be provided during the expo period.

I hear that various academic symposiums will be held.
Of course, famous scholars who demonstrate the mysteries of Korean ginseng will gather then. During the international ginseng symposium, they will identify a new recognition of the mystery of Korean ginseng on the viewpoint of historical aspect of medicinal herbs. And in the domestic ginseng conference, scholars will discuss the impor-tance of environmen-tally familiar ginseng cultivation, developmen-tal directions on gin-seng distribution indus-try, and the like.

Though the quality of Korean ginseng is the world- wide best, it has not been evaluated as it is from other countries, hasn’t it? What countermeasure do you have against that?
Since Korean ginseng has 30 kinds of saponins in total compared with American ginsengs 14 kinds and Chinese ginsengs 15 kinds. Korean ginseng has more excellent efficacies. We have presented about 150 papers on the ability to combat cancer, AIDS, dementia, and to increase memory in 15 countries in the world in order to inform the world of the excellence of Korean ginseng systematically.