Sancheong-gun Begins Sales of Sancheong Gotgam, Korea's Representative Fruit

Hygienic Distribution, Only 100% Standard Packaged Products Auctioned

2020 Sancheong Dried Persimmons Auction Begins Auction participants are inspecting the dried persimmons (Photo by Sancheong-gun)

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Soon-kyung] Sancheong-gun, Gyeongnam Province, started the first auction of dried persimmons made from ‘Sancheong Gojongsi,’ which has been selected as Korea’s representative fruit for five consecutive years, at the distribution center on the 15th.

Following the first auction, auctions will be held every Tuesday and Friday until February 2nd of next year.

This year, due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the annual opening ceremony was omitted, and only a small number of people, including Lee Jae-geun, the head of Sancheong-gun, Shim Jae-hwa, the chairman of the county council, and Park Chung-gi, the head of the county agricultural cooperative, attended the first auction.

To block COVID-19 and fine dust, from this year, only products packaged 100% according to standards (dried persimmons, dried persimmon slices) can be listed in the Sancheong dried persimmon auction.

Sancheong dried persimmons were used as tribute gifts to the king during the Joseon Dynasty, were presented as a gift to Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom in 2010 and received a thank-you letter, and have recently been used not only as gifts from the Blue House but also as desserts at state banquets.

They are a local specialty certified by the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service and recommended by the Gyeongnam Province QC mark, and were the first dried persimmons to be registered under the Geographical Indication system in 2006.

A county official said, “We are firmly establishing a hygienic and safe high-quality dried persimmon production base to maintain the reputation of Jirisan Sancheong dried persimmons, which have established themselves as Korea’s premium dried persimmons,” and added, “We hope you enjoy the true taste of dried persimmons through this year’s online Sancheong Dried Persimmon Festival.”

To add fun to the festival, the county is also preparing various online events such as a nationwide housewives’ singing contest, UCC contest, photo competition, Jirisan Sancheong dried persimmon seven-line acrostic poem contest, and a nostalgic album contest, which anyone regardless of age or gender can participate in.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.