Gochanhoon, Team Leader at Hampyeong-gun Agricultural Technology Center, Receives 'Presidential Citation' Award

Recognition for Planning the Gukhwangdaejeon and Developing New Chrysanthemum Varieties

[Hampyeong=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] On the 6th, Jeollanam-do Hampyeong-gun announced that Go Chan-hoon, head of the Resource Technology Team at the Hampyeong Agricultural Technology Center, received the ‘Presidential Citation’ for his contributions to planning the local representative festival, the Gukhyangdaejeon (Chrysanthemum Festival), and developing new chrysanthemum varieties.

Team leader Go, who entered public service in 2003, first proposed the ‘Korea Gukhyangdaejeon’ in 2004 and continues to oversee the overall exhibition and production planning.

So far, the Gukhyangdaejeon has recorded a cumulative paid attendance of 3,343,000 people, total revenue of 23.79 billion KRW, and sales of agricultural and specialty products within the festival grounds amounting to 7.394 billion KRW, emerging as a representative local festival alongside the Hampyeong Butterfly Festival.

Team leader Go has also devoted himself to developing new chrysanthemum varieties suited to the domestic environment, acquiring plant variety protection rights for a total of 21 chrysanthemum varieties, including 11 chrysanthemum bonsai, 6 Hyunaeguk (chrysanthemum species), and 4 flowerbed chrysanthemums, starting with the self-developed ‘Gukhyangmanheung’ in 2010 through this year.

In particular, ‘Nabi Yeonokhwang,’ which obtained plant variety protection rights last year, is the first nationwide case of a new chrysanthemum bonsai variety developed using radiation mutation breeding in Korea. According to the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) agreement, Hampyeong-gun will hold exclusive and sole rights to this variety for the next 20 years.

Additionally, Team leader Go formed the Korea Chrysanthemum Club in 2005, and his book ‘Learning Chrysanthemum Bonsai by Tree Shape,’ which he authored himself, was selected as an excellent agricultural science and technology publication in 2012, recognizing his top-level expertise in the chrysanthemum field.

Go Chan-hoon said, “I believe this award represents the efforts of the Hampyeong Agricultural Technology Center staff who have worked hard together,” and added, “I will continue to develop early-blooming new chrysanthemum varieties and plan the Gukhyangdaejeon in a way that no one else can follow, creating a chrysanthemum festival unique to Hampyeong that stands out from other regions.”

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