If you are a Korean ginseng(Insam) lover, Geumsan Insam Festival(금산인삼축제) is a perfect destination for you.

Geumsan Insam Festival is getting ready to attract Korean ginseng(Insam) lovers.

A girl holding a bunch of fresh Geumsan insam

Geumsan city(금산군), located in South Chungcheong province is famous for being the home of Korean ginseng (insam /인삼 in Korean) with a history of more than 1,500 years.

Geumsan City has made efforts to inform the world of the excellence of Geumsan insam(ginseng), and the Geumsan Insam Festival has been regarded as an important channel to introduce their own special type of ginseng to the world.

The 38th Geumsan Insam Festival will be held at Geumsan ginseng Hall Square and ginseng Herb Street for 10 days from September 27 to October 6, 2019.

The representative program of the festival is a ginseng harvesting experience program. The program will be run only during the festival period, and you can also buy some fresh ginseng directly at the field at a reasonable price.

Family experiencing the insam harvesting program

There are a variety of health-related programs in a health experience center(건강체험관). In fact, they are the most popular programs for visitors. There are various programs that include a world traditional healing therapy with Mongolian, Chinese, and Thai style, ginseng herbal bath, red ginseng pack massage, ginseng herbal medicine making, and health check-ups. Besides, VR health programs such as VR Spinning and natural healing meditation will be added for this year’s festival.

This festival particularly focused on hands-on events to inform the history, tradition, and excellence of Geumsan ginseng. Several new programs for this year include 'Geumsan ginseng Culture Village' where you can experience traditional culture related to ginseng such as weaving, cutting, folding and drying ginseng and ‘ Gangcheosa Village ' where you can experience the fusion madanggeok (one of the traditional Korean performances), based on the fairy tale of Gwaneumgul Cave, and making Hyoja-tang, and others.

There are also various programs for female visitors. A healthy beauty hall (건강미인관), where includes all kinds of beauty content such as measuring skin age, Korean style make-up, nail art, and making natural cosmetics, is ready to attract the attention of female visitors.

There will be some fascinating workshop experiences happening in the ginseng workshop street. You can add any kinds of art content to the ginseng with your imagination. There are various workshop programs which include slicing ginseng thinly to make a flower shape, making a ginseng vase that contains ginseng wine, making a mug that combines ginseng patterns, making ginseng LED, drawing ginseng memories, etc.

Couple joining the drying ginseng program

If you go to the festival food street, you will be surprised to have a variety of food fun related to ginseng. You will have delighted experiences of making ginseng herb dishes, such as ginseng tempura, ginseng sotteoksotteok(mix with sausages and rice cakes), ginseng kimchi, ginseng Tteokgalbi, and ginseng nabak kimchi. Don't be afraid of showing off your food skills. I'm sure you will definitely love it. However, it's a real pity you can't have all of them.

At the International Ginseng Trade Fair, they offer red ginseng concentrates, extracts, slices, and red ginseng processed products at low prices, so you can enjoy affordable shopping.

This festival is definitely a “must” if you are a Korean ginseng(insam) lover, or If you just feel like taking a short break from your busy life. Also, don’t forget to get some fresh Geumsan ginseng for your friends, your family and even yourself.