K-Food Newsletter

Damyang Hangwa Myungjin Food: A Revival of Traditional Korean Hangwa
Date
2023-10-17 11:40:15
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235
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“Aruhwa” symbolizes “our traditional sweets as beautiful as flowers.” It is the signature brand of Damyang Hanwha Myungjin Food, an agricultural corporation with a rich heritage of three generations and over 50 years dedicated to the production of traditional Korean hangwa (sweets). With a focus on naturalness, the company eschews additives, chemical flavorings or artificial syrups, relying instead on homemade rice malt and syrup for sweetness. Rooted in methods handed down by palace maids from the early Joseon Dynasty, these traditional sweets have become ceremonial staples that link Korea's past and present.
Their accolades include organic food certifications, smart farm designation, traditional food quality recognition, and FDA approval. They are also proud to hold three patents related to innovative food production methods such as snacks, lotus root processing, and seaweed jelly production. Their flagship product is an extensive set of traditional Korean sweets. For Chuseok in 2023, they launched Damyang Traditional Sweets Cheonrihyang, which includes wheat-based sweets, deep-fried sweet rice cakes, puffed rice-covered fried rice snacks, tea cakes, candied sweets, dried fruit sweets, sliced candies, malted sweet rice puffs, and various malt candies. The composition of sets such as Seolhyang, Mihyang, Jukhyang, Yehyang and Baekrihyang varies according to the price range.

 


They created Choco-Hangwa by mixing chocolate with malt syrup to cater to the tastes of the younger generation, and it's selling with great popularity. After Choco-Hangwa and Choco-Gangjeong, products such as “Daily Nutrition Bar” with nuts were successively launched and gained popularity. They released a variety of new Korean-style snacks that are light and convenient, such as Prickly Pear Bangul Yugwa (70g), Sticky Rice Honey Yakgwa (Honey Cookie) (1kg), Wheat Yakgwa (1kg), Korean Bean Cham Tofu Snack, Korean Wheat Hardtack and Injeolmi Snacks. These were developed to suit the tastes of the MZ generation, transforming traditional sweets into everyday snacks. Their product line includes more than 15 types of traditional sweet gift sets, Yakgwa, Yugwa (deep-fried sweet rice cakes), and more than 30 other snack varieties.

 


They were consecutively selected as the Agricultural Food Power Brand in 2012 and 2013. The government recognized them as one of the "Top 10 Rice Processed Products that Shined in 2019". Damyang Traditional Sweets has a farm of 2 hectares, including rice paddies and fields, and is also supplied through cooperation with local agricultural cooperatives. In 2021, the company purchased a total of 55.5 tons of glutinous rice and regular rice. They were the first in the traditional confectionery industry to introduce individual packaging, paving the way for mass distribution through standardized packaging specifications. This innovation resulted in longer shelf life by maintaining freshness. It enabled the preservation of the unique taste and aroma of traditional sweets, facilitating their entry into the global market. They've expanded into major department stores such as Lotte, Shinsegae, and Galleria, as well as the Incheon International Airport Duty-Free Shop.  

 

'Damyang Hangwa Myungjin Food: A Revival of Traditional Korean Hangwa' 저작물은 "공공누리 2유형 출처표시 + 상업적 이용금지" 조건에 따라 이용할 수 있습니다.