International food expos are held all over the world. The most popular product in the Korean Pavilion is ‘Red ginseng’. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the global attention was focused on health functional foods that boost immunity, and red ginseng came to be at the center of it. As Korea is the birthplace of ginseng, it has various types of ginseng such as red ginseng, ginseng which is a raw ingredient for red ginseng, and black ginseng, which is processed more than red ginseng. What kind of ginseng products are there in Korea? <Korea Agrafood> will introduce them.

# Ginseng boosts immunity
Ginseng is rich in saponin. While a small amount of saponin is contained in various plants such as beans, deodeok (Codonopsis lanceolata), and onion, the saponin of ginseng has a different chemical structure. Thus, ginseng saponin is called ginsenoside, which is a combined word of ginseng and glycoside. 
Korean ginseng contains more types of ginsenosides than foreign ginseng. According to the Geumsan County Office in Chungcheongnam-do, the largest producer of ginseng in Korea, foreign ginseng has around 10 ginsenosides, while Korean ginseng has 30. Ginseng has diverse effects, such as enhancing immunity, antioxidant, anticancer, and detoxification, smooth blood circulation, improving memory, and regulating hormones. This is why ginseng is also called a ‘cure for all diseases’ in Korea.

In Korea, ginseng is eaten as food. The most common dish is Samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup), which is braised deeply with ginseng, glutinous rice, dates, chestnuts, astragalus, and garlic in one chicken to be enjoyed as a summer health food. Also, ginseng milk that adds honey, ginseng abalone porridge made by simmering ginseng and abalone for a long time, and ginseng tablets marinated in honey are great for breakfast and sometimes as a reassuring snack. Some ginseng is eaten with the leaves like vegetables. Sprout ginseng is ginseng developed by the Rural Development Administration of Korea and contains 3 to 4 times higher content of saponin in leaves than roots. Ginseng and jujube are decocted to drink ginseng jujube tea, and ginseng tea products in granular form are also available. Products such as Korea Ginseng Production Co., Ltd. and Korea One Ginseng especially stand out.

Citing the research results of the research team of Chung-Ang University, a report titled ‘God Given Korean Ginseng’ published by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs of Korea claimed that ‘Ginseng increases resistance to not only cold but also viral diseases such as SARs and the novel flu.’ It was a well-grounded move that the world paid attention to Korean ginseng due to COVID-19.

# Steamed and dried ginseng, ‘Red ginseng’ and ‘Black ginseng’
What is Korean’s favorite health functional foods? It is red ginseng, which has light yellowish brown or light reddish-brown color made by steaming and drying raw ginseng to make its moisture content 14% or less. Since new ginsenosides are created while processing raw ginseng into red ginseng, red ginseng has a different effect from ginseng. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety of Korea officially recognizes five functions of red ginseng as a health functional food: immunity enhancement, fatigue improvement, blood flow improvement, memory improvement, and antioxidant. Red ginseng is also registered as a functional ingredient in Korea. Red ginseng concentrates are often packaged in a stick form for convenience, and Daedong Korea Ginseng Co., Ltd.’s ‘RED GINSENG PREMIUM’. When the Korea Consumer Agency tested Korea’s major red ginseng stick products, the results showed that Daedong Korea Ginseng’s products had the highest ginsenoside content, followed by ‘Cheongkwanjang Korean Red Ginseng Extract Everytime’ from Korea Ginseng Corp., ‘Ginseng Everyday Korean Red Ginseng Stick’ from Daesang Life Science corp., etc. ‘Cheongkwanjang Red Ginseng Extract Everytime’ uses only six-year-old ginseng strictly produced through 100% contract cultivation and adds only purified water to six-year-old red ginseng concentrate. In addition, ‘Ginseng Everyday Red Ginseng Stick’ is also made from six-year-old red ginseng as the raw ingredient and adds 8 kinds of supplementary ingredients used as herbal medicines, such as Omizawa Cornus officinalis, to enhance the taste of red ginseng.

Black ginseng is made by steaming and drying ginseng 9 times. It is less bitter than red ginseng and is rich in effective saponin content. It is especially known to have increasing content of ginsenoside-Rg3, a substance with excellent anticancer activity. This is why black ginseng has been drawing attention recently. Black ginseng products include ‘Geumheukjeong’ black ginseng concentrate from Geumsan Black Ginseng Co., Ltd., and ‘Geumheuk Black Ginseng Haneul Cheongwa’, which has marinated black ginseng in honey as it is.

# From red ginseng jelly to red ginseng honey tea
Among Korean health functional foods, red ginseng has the highest sales. This is why Korea has such special love for red ginseng and has various red ginseng products. Red ginseng is eaten in a stick and a pill form. Nonghyup Red Ginseng’s ‘Hansamin Sim Eui Hwan’ (Korean Red Ginseng Extract Pill) is a premium red ginseng health functional food carefully manufactured with 6 additional ingredients, including six-year-old red ginseng and antler. Red ginseng jelly is also popular as a healthy food for children, released by CKD Healthcare corp. and Ivenet. It is known to draw high interest of mothers as it can help boost immunity in growing children.
Red ginseng has a bitter taste, so it has likes and dislikes. However, this story is different when red ginseng meets honey. Han Kuk Sam’s ‘Korea Red Ginseng & Honey Stick’ is an example. Having a bitter and sweet taste as a mixture of Korean red ginseng and Korean honey, it is easy to eat one stick a day. 
Also, ‘Red Ginseng Jeonggwa Gold’ (Candied red ginseng) from Daedong Korea Ginseng Co., Ltd. is a perfect nutritious snack that has removed the characteristic bitter taste of red ginseng and added sweetness by preserving red ginseng in Korean honey for a long time. Red ginseng is also taken as a tea. ‘Cheongkwanjang Red Ginseng Tea’ made by Korea Ginseng Corporation has both the bitter taste of red ginseng and the sweet taste of jujube, so even people new to red ginseng can enjoy it. There is also Huons Nature’s ‘Honey Shot Red Ginseng Honey Tea’, which is a great product to enjoy as a tea as a combination of red ginseng and honey.
CJ Cheiljedang’s ‘Hanppuri’ series. Made by decocting black ginseng, red ginseng, and ginseng with 9 herbal medicines, these products include ‘Black Ginseng Daebo’, ‘Red Ginseng Daebo’, and ‘Ginseng Daebo’. ‘Hanppuri’ means one ginseng root. ‘Black Ginseng Daebo’ has a deep taste as it uses about 20 g of raw ingredient compared to 100 g of ginseng and ‘Ginseng Daebo’ has a unique taste of ginseng as it added ginseng concentrate. CJ introduces that one bottle of Hanpuri Daebo allows one to start the day energetically.

*Tip / Ginseng Processed Products