Korean Ginseng.

When you think about Korea what comes to mind immediately? Korean ginseng and taekwondo, right? They are two of Korea’s very famous products.  Everybody knows about Korean ginseng and taekwondo I’m sure.

What is Ginseng?

Korean Ginseng is a medicinal root with healing and revitalizing properties. It is used to support the treatment of numerous health conditions including  high blood cholesterol. anemia, infertility, stress-related disorders and fatigue.

It  also helps to:-

• Boost the immune system
• Improve mental and physical performance
• Increase oxygenation of cells and tissues
• Promote detoxification
• Improve vitality
• Lower blood cholesterol
• Slow down the ageing process

Whole Body

- strengthens the immune system
- has anti-aging effects
- helps defeat growth of tumors
- regulates major organs and hormonal functions
- increases oxygenation of cells and tissues
- stimulates the regeneration of damaged cells

Energy
- alleviates fatigue
- improves vitality
- improves stamina for sports people

Metabolism and digestion
- balances metabolism
- promotes digestion

Mental
- improves mental performance
- enhances memory and concentration

Blood
- acts as a powerful blood purifier
- stimulates blood circulation
- lowers high blood sugar
- lowers blood cholesterol

Detox
- promotes detoxification

Emotional
- reduces nervousness and anxiety
- lowers stress levels
- enhances mood

Men
- stimulates blood circulation and helps treat impotence
- increases sperm production and sperm mobility
- helps treat infertility

When buying ginseng, you must bear in mind the health 'type' of the person that the ginseng will be consumed by, the  quality and the type of  ginseng, Why is it important to do this? It’s because ginseng is usually not recommended for people with excessive body heat. The quality of ginseng is determined by its weight and the quality of its roots. In Korea, it is believed that ginseng resembling the human form is thought to be more potent and has more value. Ginseng is categorized by its processing methods, and the main varieties are 'susam,' baeksam,' and 'hongsam.' 'Susam' is unprocessed ginseng in its natural form, 'baeksam' is dried ginseng, while 'hongsam' is unpeeled ginseng that has been steamed before drying. 'Susam' is over 75% water and therefore hard to keep for lengthy amounts of time, but the dried 'hongsam' can be kept for over 10 years. This is the type which is preferred by most purchasers.

     

Korean Ginseng, recognized around the world as the best quality, comes from Geumsan. Ginseng can be purchased at the Gyeongdong Yaknyeong Market, Naemdaemun Market, duty free shops, and the stalls that set up shop during regional ginseng festivals. The Gyeongdong Yaknyeong Market is highly recommended, because the area is full of eastern medicine wholesalers and eastern medicine doctors. There is a wider selection of ginseng here and the prices are more competitive . Another good idea is to wait and take advantage of the many ginseng festivals, when ginseng goes on sale- the Seoul Yaknyeongsi Festival, Daegu Yaknyeongsi Festival, and the Jirisan Eastern Medicine Herb Festival are great resources.

You are in luck the annual Geumsan Insam(Ginseng) Festival will be held from (18 to 27 September) This festival is Geumsan County’s leading festival. Geumsan County, which is located in Chungcheongnam-do province, is the largest producer of ginseng in Korea and home to a ginseng and medicinal herb market. The festival, which has been running for nearly 30 years, is held to promote the beneficial effects of Geumsan ginseng. 

  
The Geumsan Ginseng Pavilion will feature exhibits on everything related to ginseng, including a special fair for the international ginseng trade and a hands-on health area featuring folk medicinal remedies. Visitors can also enjoy Geumsan traditional folk performances, singing and dance contests, This is the place and time to buy ginseng because the choice is wide  and the prices are so much lower too. The ginseng you buy back will make ideal presents for elderly people.

In Korea, people love to take sam gae tang or ginseng chicken soup during the hottest days in summer . You might ask summer is the hot season, so why do Koreans like to take hot soup in the hot weather? The belief is that one  can get very tired and weak because of the hot weather, so one needs to revitalize one’s body with healthy food.  Someone even said ”Yes, we Koreans eat sam gae tang on the hottest days of the summer, which is believed to cool and rejuvenate the body. According to tradition, sam gae tang replenishes the body of essential nutrients while sweating out the toxins.  So in sweltering weather, the hotter the soup, the better”. Now I know why the Korean men all look so strong and healthy. I believe you can order this dish in a traditional Korean restaurant. Why not give it a try, you’ll feel rejuvenated after taking it? I’ll give you another tip. You can actually cook it at home but it’s a rather complicated process. The  easier version is that  you can actually buy ready-packed Sam gae tang packs which usually contain the ginseng (or jinseng), and the ingredients  like chestnut, jujube (Chinese red dates) and the sweet rice for cooking it. You only have to buy the chicken and garnishing. Follow the instructions on the package and season to taste. Voila, you can now sit down and enjoy your Sam gae tang a la Korea.

And now let’s see what we can learn about Taekwondo in Korea.

Taekwondo is the traditional Korean martial art, which means "the way of kicking and striking", but the trademark of the sport is its combination of kick movements. These kicking techniques is what sets it apart from other martial arts. You can also describe it as the Korean martial art of self defense which focuses on kicking and punching to strike at the opponent.

Would you believe me if I told you that Taekwondo was only founded in April 1955. Don’t get me wrong, Taekwondo has been around for many centuries but it was not known under the name it goes by today. In those days different groups of people practiced different types of martial art as a form of self defense. It was only in April 1955, that a group of martial art experts came together in South Korea to unify all of the martial art disciplines under one system. This system became what is known today as Taekwondo. So you can say Taekwondo is the culmination of several types of martial art disciplines, but the main martial art it came from was Tae kyon. And since then Taekwondo has been spread throughout the world. In 2000 it became an official Olympic Games sport.

Taekwondo is the recommended sport for the youths of today. It is a good form of exercise and it helps to increase one’s physical endurance. With all the kicking, striking and shouting involved, it's also a great way to relieve stress and at the same time one gets to enjoy a good work-out. Taekwondo's attack is aggressive, but at the same time it’s more focused on the defense aspect. So one can take up taekwondo for self defense purposes.

It trains the body, and at the same time does much to discipline and develop the mind. The objective of learning Taekwondo is to foster growth in both these areas in order to become a more matured person. Taekwondo is a very disciplined sport and one must be prepared to put in hours of vigorous training. Taekwondo develops great stamina and the exercise makes one very fit and healthy. One learns to become more confident and more alert in the mind.

Taekwondo learners are exposed to repeated etiquette lessons along with the attack and defense skills to build and strengthen their character. Every class or session starts and ends with a show of respect for everyone present which cannot be said of most of the other sports. That is why I admire the Koreans, the young always show respect for their elders and they are all very polite.