The PlantEat is a leading vegan company in Korea. It is a food tech company leading the way in pure plant-based products. The company was founded in 2017, and was selected to join the Tech Incubator program for startups in its first year of operation. In 2020, the company was recognized as one of the ASIA ALT 100: Asia's top protein disruptors. Also in 2020, the company was selected as one of the "A Venture" startups in the agri-food sector by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. At Future Food Asia 2022, The PlantEat won the Cargill Food for Good Award. The company was also a finalist in the XPRIZE Feed the Next Billion 2023. It was recognized as one of three finalists in the Best Plant-Based Condiments category at the World Plant-Based Awards 2022 with its Eat's Better Chipotle Mayo. The company's key competitive advantage is its proprietary data-driven plant-based food development system called PAMS (Plant-based Alternatives Making System). This system is based on a database created by refining and processing food data using AI. It is the world's largest database, containing more than 1.1 million food ingredients. The database contains nutritional information on approximately 800,000 food products, such as mayonnaise. For ingredients like eggs, there are millions of data points. The idea is to look at milk as a combination of nutrients and experiment with finding substitutes for milk using the ingredient data. Using PAMS, they were able to match the size, nutrient macros and texture of real chicken breast to plant-based alternatives with over 90% accuracy. Eat's Better Mayo, a plant-based mayonnaise, has sold 540,000 units in just over four years. This product uses homegrown soybeans and black soybeans grown by The PlantEat in place of eggs. It is vegan certified by the Vegetarian Society. Another hit for the company is the plant-based milk alternative 'xilk', a product that contains only NON-GMO ingredients. Like their mayonnaise, this product is certified vegan. It is a 0% cholesterol product made from oats, rice, soy, coconut oil, olive oil, brown rice oil and natural sugars. It can be stored and distributed for up to 8 months at room temperature between 1-35 degrees. The product contains 13% vegetable fat, 5% protein, zero trans fat and 29% saturated fat from plant sources. People with lactose intolerance can now enjoy the taste and nutrition of milk with ease. It comes in a 950 ml bottle, contains 470 calories and is available in more than 200 cafes nationwide.

Kim, a woman in her 40s living in Seoul, has been married for 15 years. She has lived with her husband and three cats for the past six years without children. While raising her cats, she experienced that animals have feelings and share friendship in their own way. She came to realize that animals are "living beings" just like human beings. Seven years ago, she met an American who doesn't eat meat, but got along well with her meat-eating partner. Kim became convinced that a plant-based lifestyle was nutritionally beneficial. Three years ago, she decided to "no longer agree with the way animals are raised for meat" and became a vegan. Her husband then decided to follow in her footsteps. Sometimes Kim chooses a pesco diet when dining with others. Her husband followed her lead and became a pesco-vegetarian for a while, eating no poultry or meat, but now he is primarily a flexitarian, eating mostly vegetarian and occasionally meat. Due to growing concern for the environment and health, the number of people following vegetarian and vegan diets, like this couple, is increasing in Korea. Moreover, veganism has become a new food trend. The result is a wide variety of vegan food products and a growth market. About 75% of adults in Korea have lactose intolerance. Therefore, vegan food, which does not contain animal ingredients, is becoming popular not only among vegetarians, but also among non-vegetarians who are interested in healthy eating. The number of vegans in South Korea was around 150,000 in early to mid-2008. By 2018, however, the number had risen to over 1.5 million. Including those who prefer a vegetarian diet, the estimated total could exceed 10 million people. As a result of the development of various processed foods for vegans, restaurants and franchise coffee shops across the country have begun to offer a variety of vegan foods and beverages. Specialized websites have also sprung up to guide people to these places and introduce them to vegetarianism. One leading company, Chaesik Hankki (One Vegetarian Meal), has created a map of vegetarian restaurants in Korea. Vegetarian options have also been part of the school lunch program. The North Jeolla Province Office of Education, which has been serving vegetarian meals once a week since 2011, has published and distributed a vegetarian guide. In June 2020, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education selected pilot schools to introduce vegetarian options in school meals. In addition, the Korea Agency of Vegan Certification and Services Inc. was established in March 2018 to specialize in the certification of vegan foods. From 2018 to 2021, the number of certified vegan foods in Korea was 612. In 2021, there was a 44% increase, with 286 foods certified compared to the previous year. The vegan industry, which is dominated by small and medium-sized businesses and start-ups, is also seeing more participation from large enterprises. New products are being launched in food categories such as frozen meals, ready-to-eat meals, and desserts with a mix of ingredients. As the target audience for vegan products expands, active technology development to improve the taste and texture of meat substitutes is also becoming increasingly common. The growth of the domestic market is also leading to a stronger foundation for overseas expansion. Biomix Tech launched "Better Than Meat", an alternative meat product using plant-based proteins, and obtained U.S. vegan certification and halal certification in 2021. Zikooin Company launched "Unlimeat" in Australia in 2020. Even Korea's iconic processed food, ramyeon, is no exception. Nongshim's "Soon Ramyeon" is a 100% vegetable-based ramyeon that contains no meat ingredients and has been certified by the Vegan Society UK. Ottogi has also developed a vegetarian version of "Jin Ramyun" made entirely from plant-based ingredients.

Have you ever tried Japchae (stir-fried glassnoodles and vegetables)? It's a popular Koreandish that's not only delicious but also healthy! Japchae is made by mixing glass noodles, vegetables and meat, and you can add your own twist with different ingredients. It's loved by people all over the world and the best part is that it's super easy to make. Why not try it for dinner tonight?

With the highest purchasing power in SoutheastAsia, Singapore is home to consumers from many different cultures. With a wide range of languagesincluding English, Malay, Chinese and Indian Tamil, Singapore has geographical, ethnic and linguisticuniqueness and diversity. With one of the highest GDP per capita in the world (USD 65,233) and highpurchasing power, Singapore is an attractive market for businesses. The popularity of successful Koreandramas and movies has naturally led to an increased interest in K-food, and the craze for chimaek (chickenand beer) and samgyeopsal (grilled pork belly), which are often featured in K-dramas. K-food has expandedbeyond special occasion meals to include groceries, agricultural products and desserts, and has become amajor food culture. Shopee, Southeast Asia's largest online platformwith the highest mobile e-commerce usage in Singapore, has become a popular destinationfor Korean products. Korean food products on Shopee Singapore include kimchi, ramyeon,mandu (dumplings), red ginseng, snacks, health supplements and more. Korean instant noodlesare particularly popular, with Nongshim Ramyun and Kimchijjigae (kimchi stew) Ramyun amongthe most popular. In Southeast Asia, minisized noodles of 65 to 85 grams are usuallypreferred, but Korean Ramyeon sold online can be found in sizes as small as 72 gramsand as large as 117 grams. The most popular ramyeon product, Nongshim's Korean KimchijjigaeCheese Flavored Ramyun, adds cheese to neutralize the spiciness of kimchi and has gained popularitywith overseas consumers who are not used to the spiciness. Nongshim's Yukgaejang (spicy beef soup)bowl noodles are also a bestseller in Korea and have received a lot of positive feedback from onlineshopping malls. In Singapore, the preference for easy to-cook and convenient meals has led to a growingtrend in the consumption of cup noodles, and their share on online shopping is also increasing.

In 2021, sales of coffee products in South Koreatotaled 3.168 trillion won. Roasted coffee topped the list with a market share of 35.3% at 1.987 trillion won,liquid coffee was second with 34.9% at 1.883 trillion won, filtered coffee was third with 22.8% at 796billion won, and instant coffee was fourth with 7.1% at 221 billion won. Since 2018, liquid coffee held the topspot for three years with a market share of 38%, but it lost ground to roasted coffee in 2021. Roasted coffeeaccounted for 21.2% in 2018. It remained in third place until 2020, when its market share increased to 26.2%in 2019 and 26.9% in 2020, reaching the top spot in 2021. This is due to the increasing sophistication ofconsumers' tastes and the rise of home cafes due to the COVID pandemic. The proportion of people enjoyingcoffee at home with a coffee machine jumped from 35% in 2014 to 57.7% in 2022, while coffee premixproducts, which accounted for 73.7%, fell to 49.7% and instant coffee fell from 43.6% to 29.8%. South Korea exported around 164 tons of non-decaffeinated green coffee beans worth USD939,000 from January to March 2023. It exported 201 tonsworth USD1.4 million in 2022 and 283 tons worth USD1.25million in 2021. Around 2 tons of decaffeinated greencoffee beans, worth, USD26,000 were exported in 2022,0.2 ton worth USD2,000 in 2021, and 0.7 ton worthUSD8,000 in 2020. From January to March 2023, around132 tons of decaffeinated coffee beans, worth USD1.1million, were exported, compared to 679 tons worthUSD4.2 million in 2022 and 609 tons worth USD3.45 millionin 2021. Needless to say, much more is imported. In2022 alone, South Korea imported more than 200,000tons of green and roasted coffee beans worth USD1.3billion. Around 47,000 tons, or 23%, came from Brazil,followed by 32,000 tons from Vietnam, Colombia,Ethiopia and the United States. Of the 168,000 tonsworth USD640 million in 2018, 152,000 tons were greenbeans, and 16,000 tons were roasted beans, up from180,000 tons of green beans and 20,000 tons ofroasted beans last year. Of the total exports, 2,000tons of green beans and 1,000 tons of roasted beanswere decaffeinated beans in 2018, and 6,000 tons ofgreen beans and 1,000 tons of roasted beans weredecaffeinated beans in 2021. Increased consumption of coffee at home and thetrend toward habitual coffee consumption (56.1% in 2023) and health-conscious consumers havesparked interest in decaffeinated coffee. Imports of decaffeinated beans increased from 3,712 tonsin 2020 to 4,737 tons in 2021. The number of cafes serving decaffeinated coffee is also growing. EdiyaCoffee, which was the second in Korea to launch decaffeinated coffee in March 2020, is leading theway with 2,828 stores in Korea as of May 2022, followed by Starbucks Coffee, which launched thefirst decaffeinated coffee in Korea in August 2017, with 1,633 stores. In April 2020, Ediya Coffee, thelargest coffee franchise in Korea, opened its roasting plant, the Ediya Dream Factory, with a capacity ofup to 6,000 tons of beans per year. In addition to beans, the Dream Factory also produces coffee sticks,coffee premix products, and powdered products. As of April 2023, the company operates more than3,800 franchise stores. In addition to launching new products such as coffee premix products and coffeecapsules, the company is also increasing the number of distribution channels through hypermarket andconvenience store campaigns. Ediya Coffee is capitalizing on this trend andexpanding its overseas business. In August 2020, the company launched two new flavors of Ediya Coffee Mix,which generated sales of 3.3 billion won in eight months. In April 2021, the company also exported its productsto Mongolia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the United States. Ediya Coffee even opened a brand store on the globalstore of Tmall, an online shopping mall operated by China's Alibaba Group. Currently, Ediya exports variousproducts to a total of 19 countries, including Australia, New Zealand and Oceania. Last year, they expandedtheir "Coffee Mix" product line to local grocery stores in Mongolia, selling it not only in retail stores but alsoin supermarkets They also plan to open the first Ediya Coffee store in Guam, a U.S. territory, this year, andexpand their range of products by opening more stores in Southeast Asia and North America.

Pears grown by the Korean Pears Cooperative Unionare harvested at exactly the right time, without using growing aids. No herbicides are used either. Theprinciples remain the same even when typhoons hit the farms and the season comes early. The methodthey use to grow healthy pears is the same as that required to become Halal certified. The Korean PearsCooperative Union's pears were halal-certified in 2017. They only supply pears with a Brix level of 13 orhigher, and the pears undergo a rigorous selection process in line with ISO 22000 quality managementstandards. This process ensures that only the highest quality pears with high sugar content are selectedfor premium export. The unit price of these pears is maintained at 150% of the domestic price. Thecooperative aims to provide the highest quality for the consumer and the highest selling price forthe producer. They export their high-quality, sweet pears to countries such as the United Arab Emirates,Australia, Brunei, Canada, Switzerland, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Kuwait, Mongolia, theNetherlands, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and India, with direct trade to Hong Kong, Australia andCanada. This year's production target is 400 tons on 2.9hectares from 24 farms. Last year, the 24 farms produced 400 tons on 2.9 hectares. In 2021 and2020 they produced 350 tons on 2.9 hectares. This year they are expected to export 400 tons, worthabout USD1.5 million. Last year they exported 347 tons, worth USD1.26 million, 290 tonnes worth USD1.12 millionin 2021, and 292 tons worth USD910,000 in 2020. In the past, up to 20-40% of pears were rejected duringthe selection process and a significant amount of pears that had been carefully grown throughoutthe year were buried in the pear fields, known as "pear graves". The pears rejected during the sortingprocess were then processed into pear extract, pear syrup, and preserved pear and bellflower root. Bydoing so, the cooperative farmers were able to sell all the pears they produced. In October this year,they plan to export pear products worth around USD100,000 to the United States, Canada and Australia,as well as to the Middle East. In 2012, six neighboring pear farmers in Munsanmyeon,Jinju City, South Gyeongsang Province, joined forces. They invested 2 billion won in cash to establishwhat is now the Korean Pears Cooperative Union. A sorting center and a cold storage warehouse werebuilt. They opted for direct export to save on export fees, and the head of the cooperative union did notreceive a salary. All members work on a voluntary basis, contributing to the cooperative and receivingan income based on their harvests. The head of the cooperative traveled to exhibitions in Hong Kongand Singapore at the end of April, and went straight back to his field on May 1 to check his orchard. Thereare 24 pear growers in the union. At first they started exporting on their own, without any facilities orequipment, in front of a small container box. There was no paper to label the boxes, so they wrote andattached the labels themselves. Through their sweat and hard work, they were able to overcome thechallenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. They believed that the only way to survive in the exportmarket was through the quality of their products, and so far they have succeeded. The union's principle is direct export, and theyalso work with domestic trade specialists. They work with companies that specialize in domestic trade.They mostly rely on direct contact with buyers to conclude contracts, and they participate in overseasexhibitions to promote their products. The union participated in the first exhibition of the year at the2023 GULFOOD, exhibiting at the aT booth. At the Q1- Q2 BKF Export Consultation Meeting held at the aTCenter in Yangjae-dong, Seoul, they signed an MOU worth USD700,000 with a company from Singapore andUSD900,000 with three companies from Dubai. ESMA HALAL and KMF HALAL certifications made theseresults possible. The cooperative's pears are supplied annually to the Korean Day event at the UAE Embassy,and they also export directly to Korean supermarkets in Dubai. The cooperative recently participated inexhibitions in Hong Kong and Singapore at the end of April. In the second half of the year, the union will takepart in a sales roadshow in Germany. There is also a lot of interest in its products from various countriessuch as South Africa and the Dominican Republic. Next destinations are the Middle East and Europe.

Bebefood Korea Co. Ltd. is a company specializingin infant and toddler nutrition. It was established in 2009 as Hanyang F&D and changed to its currentname in 2018. Bebefood Korea is a company that exports naturally fermented foods using Koreaningredients. The company exported to China for the first time in 2014, and the following year entered 300stores specializing in baby food in China. In 2016, it exported to Taiwan, Thailand, the United States, HongKong and Macau. In 2017, the company expanded its exports to Malaysia, and in 2018 to Mongoliaand Indonesia. That year, the company reached the ambitious level of USD1 million in exports. Exports werealso be made to Cambodia in 2020 and Singapore and Vietnam in 2021. Bebefood is currently preparingto export to Canada and Australia. Bebefood Korea achieved an export value of USD1.2 million in 2018,USD1.1 million in 2019 and 2020, USD800,000 in 2021 and USD600,000 in 2022. The company received ISO 22000certification (food safety management system) in 2016 and ISO9001 certification (quality managementsystem) in 2017. The company also received KMF HALAL certification in 2021. Bebefood Korea's main products are Koreanfermented products, including ganjang (soy sauce) and doenjang (soybean paste), which have a uniquenutritional value and taste, and a total of 34 types of processed foods for infants. Under the slogan"Easy for moms, healthy for kids", all products aremade with more than 95% domestic ingredients. Thecompany aims to use 100% domestic ingredients, but some ingredients, such as organic sugar, are inevitablybe imported. Because the foods are for infants, the company does not use genetically modifiedorganisms (GMOs) or synthetic additives. They have been developed in sizes and textures suitable forbabies, with recipes tailored for them. The products have been developed with customized recipes forbabies to ensure that the sizes and textures are suitable for them. Products include Bebefood ZeroSeasoning Laver, Bebefood Soy Sauce, Bebefood Rice Rusk and Bebefood Elderberry Juice, which containshealthy sweet flavors from Korean apple concentrate instead of sugar. Bebefood Korea has also developedEasy Baby Meals. They have launched low-salt soy sauce made from 100% Korean beans and baby saltmade by blending Korean vegetables with finely ground Korean sea salt. As babies reach the end of weaning, they alsocrave strong tastes, so they need ingredients with enhanced taste. That's why Bebefood's main exportproduct category is seasonings. These include ganjang, doenjang and sesame oil. These productsare made with healthier ingredients and contain less sodium than their adult counterparts. This allowschildren to get used to healthy flavors from an early age. The sodium content of all products is minimizedand the natural sweetness of the ingredients is maximized to produce safe foods that are neithertoo salty nor too sweet. The company has pursued simple recipes, focusing on making healthy foodwith a minimum of unnecessary ingredients rather than adding more. The company has also set up anR&D department to develop its own recipes, and all employees are involved in evaluating new products. Bebefood products are available at majordepartment stores and shopping malls in Korea, including Hyundai, Lotte, Shinsegae Department Store, E-Mart, the Ministry of National Defense Welfare Agency, and Incheon Airport Duty Free.Bebefood soy sauce was once imported into Thailand by a Thai tourist who visited Hong Kong and foundthe Bebefood soy sauce from a major department store by chance. This importation lasted for the pastfive years. Bebefood is available at local department stores, major online shopping malls and franchisestores specializing in baby food. Each country has different preferences; seaweed is popular in China,soy sauce in Taiwan and beverages in Malaysia. In response, Bebefood is constantly researching toimprove the quality of existing export products to meet local needs and tastes, develop new productsand diversify export countries. Most importantly, they strive to produce products with naturalingredients. While there are global players focusing on baby products such as Heinz and Gerber, in KoreaBebefood Korea is growing as a global company offering Korean-style baby and infant products.

Chamoe (Korean melon) is a thermophilic crop thatthrives at 25-30 degrees Celsius. In English, chamoe is also called oriental melon. It is an annual plantbelonging to the gourd family, and is believed to have originated in Africa, India, and China. From itsorigin, the fruit spread across Asia to become chamoe and melon in Europe. It is known that chamoe wasintroduced from the Chinese region of Hwabuk during the Three Kingdoms period or earlier, and chamoecultivation became common during the Unified Silla period in Korea. Seongju County, which has been cultivatingchamoe since the 1940s, is the leading chamoe producer in Korea. Located at the meeting point of Mt.Gayasan, standing at 1,433 meters above the sea level, and the Nakdong River, one of the four major rivers inSouth Korea, the area boasts fertile soil and excellent drainage, making it ideal for growing chamoe.Seongju chamoe boasts the highest quality in terms of shape, color, and many other qualities. It is rich invitamin C, 10-200mg, and has 89.8% water content and 7.3 g carbohydrate content. It has 32 calories andcontains 14mg of calcium and 12mg of phosphorus. The sweetness level is 15-17 Brix. Regarding chamoe cultivation in Seongju County, in2019, 3,896 farms produced 188,384 tons of chamoe on 3,457.7 hectares, generating 505 billion won in revenue.In 2020, 3,848 farms produced 186,501 tons of chamoe on 3,433.2 hectares, generating 501.9 billion won inrevenue. The export volume is also not small. Two hundred and sixty-three tons worth 870 million wonin 2017, 215 tonnes worth 700 million won in 2018, 436 tons worth 1.4 billion won in 2019 and 415 tons worth1.39 billion won in 2020 were exported to Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore and other countries.More than 70% of chamoe are sold from late March to late June. This period accounts for about 90% of thetotal sales revenue. The main selling season is from the Lunar New Year in February to the Chuseok holidayin September. Rarely, chamoe is sold in the middle of winter, in December. As greenhouse cultivation hasbecome more common, it is possible to find chamoe, a typical summer fruit, all year round now. The Agricultural Products Distribution Center (APC)of National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (Nonghyup) in Wolhang-myeon, Seongju County, hasbeen leading the distribution and export of the largest amount of chamoe in the region. This year's salesperformance from January to March is similar to last year's, with 1,389 tons worth 10 billion won. In 2022,the center shipped 6,497 tons and earned 31.5 billion won. In 2021, it shipped 7,292 tons and earned 33.2billion won. In 2020, it shipped 7,199 tons and earned 27.9 billion won, and in 2019, it shipped 7,664 tons andearned 29.2 billion won. Of the 300 chamoe farms in Wolhang-myeon, 130 member farms contributed tothis amount. There are 10 agricultural cooperatives in Seongju County. Of the 300 chamoe farms in Wolhangmyeon,130 farms participated in the APC. Of Wolhang Nonghyup's total business income of 48.47 billionwon, 31.5 billion won came from the distribution and sale of chamoe. Wolhang Nonghyup exported 248 tons of chamoeworth 1.33 billion won to Japan, Hong Kong, Russia and Mongolia in 2021 and 240 tons in 2022 (1 USD =1,300 KRW). In 2020, 265 tons worth 1.1 billion won were exported to Singapore and other countries.Wolhang Nonghyup is the No. 1 agriculturalcooperative in the area, accounting for most ofSeongju County's chamoe exports. Vladivostok inRussia, Mongolia and Japan are the main destinationsfor chamoe exports. Chamoe is transported toMongolia and Japan by ship, while Hong Kong canalso be reached by ship, but air transport is morecommon. The first export deal with Singapore wasconcluded in 2013, under which chamoe worth 260million won were delivered by air. Chamoe is beststored in the fridge or at temperatures around 4-6 celsius.If there is a temperature difference of more than 10celsiusfrom the production environment, condensationmay occur, leading to a deterioration in quality. Onceharvested and graded, the shelf life depends on thestorage method. It is possible to transport Chamoein refrigerated containers from the point of sale toSingapore within approximately 10 days.

In 2021, South Korea's total plum cultivation areawas 6,256 hectares, producing a total of 30,191 tons. Gwangyang City produced 8,423 tons on 1,358hectares and Suncheon City produced 6,600 tons on 1,209 hectares. In 2021, Gwangyang City wasthe largest producer in the country with 22% of the nation's cultivation area and 28% of production. In2020, the nation's total plum cultivation area was 8,487 hectares and total production was 40,122 tons.Gwangyang produced 6,400 tons on 1,493 hectares and Suncheon 5,500 tons on 1,209 hectares. HadongCounty produced 3,274 tons in 2020 and 3,021 tons in 2021. Gwangyang City ranks first in Korea in terms ofarea, production volume, number of participating farms and income in all sectors of plum production.Last year, Gwangyang City ranked first in the country for plum cultivation area, production volume,participating farms and income. 7,294 tons of plums were produced on 1,325 hectares of land by 3,577farms that earned 164 billion won. Green plum exports started with 300 kg, worthUSD1,000, of plums exported to Singapore in 2018, followed by 8 tons, worth USD23,000, to Singaporein 2019, 2.5 tons, worth USD11,000, to Taiwan and Singapore in 2020, 59.1 tons, worth USD108,000, toBelgium and France in 2021, and 54.7 tons, worth USD99,000, to Belgium and France in 2022. In thesefive years, 124,728.4 kilograms were exported for USD241,932. Gwangyang City based Bitgreen Maesil Co.,Ltd. exported 8 tons of plum by-products to France for USD10,000 in 2019; in 2020, Hyeopsung Agricultureexported 1.8 tons of plums and by-products to Hong Kong and France for USD25,000; and in 2021, 7 tons ofprocessed plums were exported to France for USD12,000. Gwangyang Cheong Maesil Farm has launchedmore than 30 types of processed products, including plum beverages, plum doenjang, and gochujang. Itsannual sales recently exceeded 5 billion won, and the farm has exported processed products since 2003.In 2015, it exported 36 tons worth USD185,000 to the US and 6.4 tons worth USD70,000 to the United Statesand Australia in 2017. By the end of last year, the farm reached a cumulative export value of USD5 million. Suncheon City's POCOTERRA exported plum jelly,plum king seed Korea pancake, and pure plum extractto the US, China, Japan, Thailand, and Australia from2019 to 2022, amounting to USD230,000. In HadongCounty, exports amounted to USD150,000 over thethree-year period from 2020 to 2022. SLOWFOODCo., Ltd. exported products worth USD70,000 in 2020,USD14,000 in 2021, and USD50,000 in 2022. Individual farmsalso exported about 2-3 tons, worth USD50,000, to U.S. supermarkets annually.

In 1994, Gwangyang Cheong Maesil Farm launchedthe first plum concentrate product in Korea. This concentrate was made by selecting green unripe plums(cheongmae) grown using 100% organic farming methods and heating the plum juice for 72 hours. Thisproduct is sugar-free, additive-free and made only from plums. The company produces 30 kinds of productsincluding this concentrate, plum juice, plum jangajji (pickled plum), plum gochujang (red chili paste) anddoenjang (soybean paste). Cheongmae concentrate accounts for 10%, cheongmaewon (liquid extract)for 60%, plum jangajji for 20%, and plum gochujang and doenjang for 5% each. "Cheongmaewon liquidextract consists of 70% plum, 3% plum concentrate, 25% oligosaccharide and 2% (sugar) dextrose. Minimalsugar is used to extract the ingredients in the plum. Gwangyang Cheong Maesil Farm, which received theAgricultural Product Power Brand Award in October 2007, cultivates 60,000 square meters (6 hectares) ofland and produces an average of 50-60 tons of plums per year. In 2021, the farm produced 52 tons of plumsand bought 397 tons from neighboring plum farms. In 2022, they produced 55 tons of plums and bought354 tons. The farm had sales of 5.14 billion won in2021 and 5.2 billion won in 2022. Its export business, which started in 2003 with 48,588 kg and USD397,572, has reached a cumulative export value of around USD5 millionto countries such as the United States and Australia. Over the years, the 3,000 traditional jars used to agethe plums at Gangyang Cheong Maesil Farm have gradually deteriorated over time, and now only about1,500 remain. Despite the decline in the number of jars, the popularity of the Plum Village Festival hascontinued to grow. In March, when the plum blossoms are in full bloom, up to two million people flock tothe small village in southern Korea. During the 10-day festival, when the plum blossoms are at their peak,over a million tourists gather to experience various plum-related cultural events. Gwangyang CheongMaesil Farm is also the birthplace of this festival. Traditional clay jars are so effective at naturallyfermenting food that they are often referred to as 'breathable' containers. These jars have been used forthousands of years to make Korean kimchi, doenjang (soybean paste), gochujang (red chili paste) andother local foods. Gwangyang Cheong Maesil Farm still uses these traditional jars to ferment some of itsgochujang, doenjang and plum extract. Each jar holds about 200kg of plums, and about 30 tons of plums areproduced each year by ripening them in these jars. This is about 10% of the total annual production, 300 tonsof processed plums. The remaining 80-90% is ripened in modern tanks. The finished product is made bymixing plums ripened in jars for six months with those ripened in tanks for 1-2 years.