• Journal of Ginseng Culture
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• v.1
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• pp.43-56
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• 2019

Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng) has been known as one of the representative special and healthful products originating from Korea for 4500 to 5000 years. The word of ginseng was first mentioned in JiJuZhang(急就章), written by ShiYou during the reign of King Yuah Di of the Chien Han Dynasty, China (33-48 BC). It has been known that wild Korean ginseng grows in Korean peninsula including Manchuria and the ginseng is found only between the $33^{rd}$ and $48^{th}$ parellels of north latitude. Since the times of three kingdom in Korea at 4-7 century, which is Kokuryo, Baekje and Shila, Korea has been the chief ginseng producing country. A large quantity of ginseng was exported from Korea to China for medicinal use at that times. That was written in SamGukSaGi(三國史記) by BuSik Kim of Koryeo Dynasty in Korea in 1145. The cultivation of Korean ginseng was also recorded in Bencaogangmu(本草綱目) written by LiShi Zen during the regin of the Ming Dynasty in 1596, China. The ginseng seedling, which was known as an original method invented by imitating the method of rice transplantation, appeared in the SeungJeongWon Ilgi(the diaries of the royal secretariat, 承政院日記), 1687 in the regin of King SukJong in Korea. It was suggesting that ginseng cultivation was firstly established in the early 1600s in Korea. On the other hand, red ginseng(written as 熟參) was reported firstly in GoRyeoDoGyeong(高麗圖經)(a record of personal experience in Korea, written in 1123) by SeoGung in Song Dynasty, China. The names of Pansam(written as 板蔘) and Pasam(written as 把蔘), which were the another types of red ginseng products, were came on in the JoSeon Dynasty Annals in 1552 and 1602, respectively. Although the term of red ginseng(Hongsam in Korean) was firstly appeared in the JoSeon Dynasty Annals in 1797, it is believed to have been developed a little earlier periods from the King Jungjong(1506~1545) to the King SeonJo(1567~1608) in Korea. Then, the Korean red ginseng has begun production on a large scale in SamJeong Department of NaeJangWon(內藏院 蔘政課) in the Korean Empire(大韓帝國) in 1899. More detailed records about red ginseng production method were written in the SohoDanag Miscellany(韶濩堂集) by Taekyoung Kim at 1916 year in Korea. On the while, the efficacy of ginseng was first recorded in Shennongbencaojing(神農本草經) written in China(BC 83-96) and the efficacy has been continuously inherited.