• Journal of Ginseng Culture
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• v.5
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• pp.52-76
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• 2023

This article focuses on changes in the ginseng industry in the 1930s in areas other than the Government Contract Cultivation (GCC) zones. A major characteristic of the ginseng industry in the 1930s was the rapid increase in the area covered by ginseng gardens: the area was about 212 ha in 1929 and 252 ha in 1930 and 1931 but soared to around 441 ha in 1938. This occurred because the non-GCC areas increased significantly during this period. Until the early 1930s, the ratio of GCC to non-GCC areas was 70:30. By the late 1930s, however, the ratio had changed to 53:47. The reason for this change was that the area of the newly established ginseng gardens in the GCC zones had decreased, while that of the non-GCC ginseng gardens had steadily increased. Due to the Japanese invasion of China, China boycotted red ginseng, and exports were sluggish, so the GCC areas were reduced. On the other hand, the non-GCC ginseng gardens were not affected, and the area they covered steadily increased. As a result, in the 1930s, the ginseng industry outside of the GCC areas grew rapidly. The region that led the growth of the ginseng industry outside of the GCC zone was Jeonbuk. By the late 1930s, Jeonbuk dominated the other provinces and accounted for more than 50% of the non-GCC farming zone. Gyeongbuk and Gangwon-do followed Jeonbuk in terms of ginseng cultivation areas. While Gyeonggi-do, Gyeongnam, and Chungbuk were also active in ginseng cultivation, Jeonnam and Chungnam were not active. In the 1930s, the growth of the ginseng industry outside of the GCC zones was driven by the efforts of ginseng farmers and the support of local governments. An examination of Yecheon-gun in Gyeongbuk, Ganghwa-gun in Gyeonggi, and Jecheon-gun in Chungcheongbuk-do showed that ginseng farmers organized cooperatives as the ginseng industry steadily developed in these regions, and these cooperatives worked systematically to cultivate and sell ginseng. In the case of Ganghwa-gun, activities were carried out to incorporate the GCC zone. The Deoksan Ginseng Association in Jecheon-gun determined that financing for cultivation was key and requested subsidies from the provincial government. Administrative authorities also supported the activities of the ginseng farmers. The activities of the farmers and the support of the administrative authorities together led to the growth of the ginseng industry during this period.