Hadong County has been exporting mainly green kiwis to Japan since 2005. It continued for more than 10 years until COVID-19 interrupted the exports. On March 14, Yangbo-myeon, Hadong County, Gyeongsangnam-do, held the first shipment event for the export of the specialty crop "kiwi" to Japan in 2023. At the center of the event was CEO Ahn Hogon, who has been growing Hadong kiwis for 17 years while leading the kiwi crop group in Yangbo-myeon. He also served as the CEO of the Hadong County Kiwi Association from 2018 until last year. He cultivates an area of 0.53 hectares. Ahn harvests golden kiwis around October 20 and green kiwis in early November. The main variety of kiwi in Hadong County is green kiwi. Golden kiwis account for about 30% of the total production.

In 2022, 41 farms in Hadong County, mainly in Yangbo-myeon, Geumnam-myeon and Jingyo-myeon, which are the main counties for kiwi production, produced about 300 tons of kiwi on 37 hectares of land. The export volume accounted for about 10% of the total production, amounting to about 10 tons. Overseas exports, which expanded to Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia in 2018, have recently resumed after being almost cut off by COVID-19 in 2020. Hadong kiwis are produced using environmentally friendly farming methods with clean air and water. It is of high quality, grows at high altitudes, and has a high sugar content due to large diurnal variations. The kiwi also has a distinctive and rich aroma.

Hadong kiwis contain 20 times more vitamin C than apples and 5 times more than tangerines, so they have a great effect on preventing freckles and sunspots, preventing aging of blood vessels, and relieving stress. There are several varieties of Hadong Kiwi, including "Sunple," a golden kiwi that can be harvested early; "Daegwa Gold Kiwi," which has a high sweetness; "Goldwon," a large and tangy golden kiwi; "Nokheung," a green kiwi that is a natural source of vitamin C; and "Gamrok," a green kiwi with a mild and less sour taste. Even the same variety of kiwi can have a slightly different flavor and appearance depending on the environment in which it was grown. 
A subtropical fruit, kiwi is divided into red, green and gold according to flesh color. The golden kiwi is an indigenous variety. More than 95% of kiwis are grown in the coastal areas of South Jeolla Province, South Gyeongsang Province and Jeju Island. Jeju Island, where kiwi cultivation began in 1978, is an ideal location due to its warm maritime climate. Jeju is also the largest producer in Korea. In 2020, Jeju Island produced 8,807 tons of kiwis from 600 farms covering 327.8 hectares. South Jeolla Province ranks second, with 984 farms covering 536 hectares and producing 6,365.3 tons. Southern Gyeongsang Province ranks third with 859 farms covering 99 hectares and producing 4,407.7 tons of kiwis.

Domestic varieties such as Golden Kiwi still account for less than 30% of the total kiwi cultivation area in Korea, but 88% of these domestic varieties are Golden Kiwi. Golden Kiwis have excellent flavor and are gradually becoming the main variety of kiwi in Korea. They have yellow or greenish-yellow flesh. It weighs between 80 and 120 grams and has a sweetness level of 16.3° Brix. The Golden Kiwi, which is 2-3 Brix sweeter than the green kiwi, was developed by the Rural Development Administration of Korea in 2014. It is currently grown on 40 hectares on Jeju Island. In 2015, for the first time in Korea, 171 tons of golden and red kiwis were exported to five countries, including Singapore. Southeast Asia prefers red kiwis, while Japan prefers green kiwis. In 2020, South Korea exported 142.3 tons of kiwis. In order of export volume, green kiwi topped the list with 80.5 tons. Golden kiwi ranked second with 34.2 tons exported to Hong Kong (21 tons), Myanmar (4.7 tons), Malaysia (4.3 tons), Singapore (2.5 tons), Taiwan (0.9 tons), and Mongolia (0.8 tons).