Wild Ginseng Worth 120 Million Won Found on Jirisan, Including a 100-Year-Old Parent Root

According to the Korea Traditional Simmani Association on the 7th, a simmani in his 50s, identified only as A, recently collected 11 naturally grown wild ginseng roots in an area about 800 meters above sea level on the slopes of Jirisan, near Odojae Pass in Hamyang-gun, South Gyeongsang Province. Wild ginseng that has grown naturally for at least 50 years over multiple generations in deep mountains, without human cultivation or management, is called naturally grown wild ginseng.

The collected ginseng consisted of a parent root and offspring roots that had grown beneath it, forming a five-generation family group. The association estimated that the oldest parent root was approximately 100 years old. Even the youngest offspring root in the group was assessed to have grown for at least 20 years.

The 11 roots weighed a combined 76 grams. The association appraised their total value at 120 million won and confirmed that they formed a family group that had grown over several generations in one location, rather than being separate roots found individually.

The ginseng was found at an elevation of about 800 meters above sea level on the slopes of Jirisan near Odojae Pass in Hamyang-gun. Simmani A visited the mountain while frequent rain and a heat wave this summer had made hiking conditions difficult, and discovered the family group of wild ginseng.

Jeong Hyeong-beom, president of the Korea Traditional Simmani Association, said that torrential rains and an abnormal heat wave had continued for more than three months this summer, making hiking conditions extremely difficult. He described the discovery as a valuable result achieved under such challenging circumstances.