Korean red ginseng, popular Lunar New Year gift idea overseas

Hongsam, Korean red ginseng, has become a popular choice for Lunar New Year gift in overseas markets, stretching from Asia to the United States, Australia, Russia and the Middle East, the company said Wednesday.

Korea Ginseng Corp. (KGC), Korea’s leading Red Ginseng manufacturer, unveiled a map of Korean red ginseng markets around the world, showing its best-selling product by country. According to the map, EveryTime, stick pouches of Red Ginseng extract favored for its portability, has made sales records in six Asian markets -– Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam.

Numbers on the map demonstrate KGC‘s growth in export performance. In 2020, overseas shipment by KGC rose 4.8 percent from a year before. By the third quarter of 2021, exports of KGC products jumped 20 percent from the 2019 figure.

The popularity of Hongsam has been building up over growing global interest in health and the influx of the newest consumer generation who became interested in ginseng products featured in K-dramas.

Introducing new product lines and opening up sales channels to e-commerce platforms are also credited with contributing to the trend, the company said. It launched its products on leading foreign e-commerce stores, including Tmall, Amazon, Lazada and Shopee, capitalizing on the surge in online shopping fueled by COVID-19, officials added.

By Ahn Ju-hee (dianahn@heraldcorp.com)