Jirisan Sancheong Strawberries and Dried Persimmons Win Korea Representative Brand Award

7 Consecutive Years Winning Strawberry & 7-Time Awarded Dried Persimmon

Continuing the Prestige of Premium Strawberry & Dried Persimmon

Jirisan’s premium Gyeongnam Sancheong strawberries and Jirisan’s premium Sancheong dried persimmons have won the Korea Representative Brand Awards.

According to Sancheong County on the 19th, at the ‘2023 Korea Representative Brand Awards’ ceremony held at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul, Sancheong strawberries and Sancheong dried persimmons each received the Grand Prize for local specialty products from local governments.

With this, Sancheong strawberries have been selected for 7 consecutive years (8 times in total since 2008), and Sancheong dried persimmons have been selected 7 times since 2016, continuing their well-deserved reputation as the best nationwide.

Jirisan Sancheong Strawberries and Dried Persimmons, Korea Representative Brand Award Winner.

Sancheong strawberries, selected as the representative brand for 7 consecutive years up to this year, are a cash crop generating high income of 130 billion KRW annually from about 800 farms.

Sancheong County has alluvial soil formed by the three major rivers?Gyeonghogang, Deokcheon River, and Yangcheon River?and a valley breeze blowing from Jirisan, creating a climate that is cool in summer and warm in winter, making it ideal for cultivating the low-temperature crop, strawberries.

Sancheong strawberries, produced from November, take about 1 to 2 days longer to ripen compared to other regions, resulting in higher sugar content and firmer flesh, which provides excellent storability and long-lasting freshness, earning high praise from consumers.

Additionally, the county promotes high-quality strawberry production through modernization of cultivation facilities and dissemination of new technologies, as well as holding strawberry promotional events to further increase consumer awareness.

Sancheong dried persimmons, honored with 7 awards to date, are produced from the Sancheong Gojongsi variety, which has been selected as Korea’s representative fruit for 7 consecutive years from 2016 to last year at the ‘Korea Representative Fruit Selection Contest.’

Notably, Sancheong dried persimmons were the first in the nation to complete geographical indication registration in the dried persimmon sector (June 9, 2006, Korea Forest Service No. 3), and through modernization support for production facilities, they produce dried persimmons that consumers can trust and safely enjoy.

Currently, about 1,300 farms produce approximately 2,700 tons annually, generating income worth 40 billion KRW. Sancheong dried persimmons boast high sugar content and a chewy texture influenced by the clean air and pure water at the foot of Jirisan.

Thanks to the development of processing technology utilizing natural conditions, the vitamin C content is about 2 to 20 times higher than in other major production areas, making it a top winter snack.

Moreover, the Jirisan Sancheong Dried Persimmon Producers Association holds the annual ‘Jirisan Sancheong Dried Persimmon Festival’ to widely promote the excellent quality of Sancheong dried persimmons to consumers, enhancing brand awareness.

The Jirisan Sancheong Dried Persimmon Festival, which has won the Korea Festival Contents Award for 8 consecutive years in the festival economy category, plans programs that allow diverse consumer participation, raising the external recognition of Sancheong dried persimmons among tourists nationwide visiting the festival site.

County Governor Lee Seunghwa said, “The selection of Sancheong strawberries and Sancheong dried persimmons as the nation’s top brands is the result of the passion of farmers who have worked hard to produce excellent quality agricultural products. We will continue to do our best to enhance the image as leaders in Korea’s strawberry and dried persimmon industries and maintain our reputation with the best taste and quality nationwide.”

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