Sancheong-gun, Unprecedented Bumper Harvest of Sancheong Gotgam Raw Persimmons 'Gojongsi'

Woosung Farm couple Jo Hyung-seop and Park Young-ok are harvesting Sancheong Gojongsi (astringent persimmons). / Provided by Sancheong County

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Soon-kyung] Sancheong-gun, Gyeongnam announced on the 2nd that it is harvesting Gojongsi (astringent persimmons), the raw material for dried persimmons, at a farm in Sicheon-myeon.

This year, due to adverse weather conditions such as large temperature differences during the flowering period nationwide and frequent rain in May and June, the production volume of raw persimmons has decreased.

However, Sancheong Gojongsi is expected to produce the highest quality "Jirisan Sancheong Dried Persimmons" due to an unprecedented bumper harvest.

Sancheong Gojongsi has been cultivated in the Deoksan area of Sancheong-gun at the foot of Jirisan since the Goryeo Dynasty and was named after being sent as a tribute to Emperor Gojong.

Sancheong Gojongsi was selected as Korea's representative fruit for five consecutive years from 2016 to 2020. The Gojongsi persimmon trees are cultivated as raw materials for dried persimmons in Sicheon-myeon and Samjang-myeon, areas known for the clean water and fresh air of the Jirisan pristine valley.

Sancheong dried persimmons are produced as tasty and high-quality dried persimmons due to the special natural environment where cold air currents flow in at the foot of Jirisan, causing freezing at night and thawing during the day repeatedly, which naturally increases the sugar content.

In particular, in 2010, they were presented as a gift to Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom and received a letter of thanks. Sancheong dried persimmons are produced by about 1,300 farms, yielding approximately 2,700 tons, generating an annual income of around 35 billion KRW.

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