Gapyeong Wild Edibles, First Export to the U.S.... Full-Scale Challenge to the Global Market

Export of 8 Types Including Yeot, Hangwa, Soy Sauce, and Doenjang Made from Gapyeong Pine Nuts and Pine Nuts

Forest products from the Gapyeong region have made their first foray into the global market.

Gapyeong-gun (Governor Seo Tae-won) announced on the 28th that it held the ‘Gapyeong-gun Forest Products Export Loading Ceremony to the United States’ at the Gapyeong Sports Complex on the 26th. This export marks the first case of processed foods made from local forest products entering the U.S. market in earnest, and is expected to serve as an important stepping stone for the globalization of local specialties.

Seo Taewon, Gapyeong County Governor, held the 'Gapyeong County Forest Products Export to the United States Shipping Ceremony' at Gapyeong Sports Complex on the 26th. Photo by Gapyeong County

The export items included eight products such as Gapyeong pine nuts and pine nut-based yeot (traditional Korean taffy), hangwa (traditional Korean confections), soy sauce, and doenjang (fermented soybean paste). These products will be sold at the New York and New Jersey branches of ‘Food Bazaar Market,’ a representative Asian grocery distribution chain located in the eastern United States. Food Bazaar handles groceries from across Asia, including Southeast and Northeast Asia, and operates about 45 stores exclusively in the eastern U.S.

Gapyeong-gun plans to hold promotional events at 2 to 3 stores to promote and expand sales of local specialties, leveraging this export opportunity.

At the loading ceremony, Governor Seo Tae-won expressed his expectations, saying, “Not only will the excellence of Gapyeong-gun’s forest products be recognized in the U.S. market through this export, but I also hope it will spread to many countries around the world in the future.”

The ceremony was attended by key figures including Governor Seo, Lee Jae-jun, CEO of Gyeonggi-do Corporation, Cho Young-wan, Head of Business Division, Kim Jang-sung, CEO of Gyeonggi Trade Corporation, representatives from Ma-eum Co., Ltd. and Jat Song-i Farm, and Mr. Lee Soo-geun, celebrating the export.

Park Jeong-seon, Director of the County Forestry Department, said, “We expect this export to greatly contribute to opening new markets for local forest products,” adding, “We will continue to do our best to expand exports of Gapyeong-gun specialties through various market development efforts and continuous promotion.”

This export is the result of Gapyeong-gun’s collaboration with Korean agricultural food export companies to conduct promotional events for Korean agricultural products in the U.S. Gapyeong-gun plans to accelerate regional economic revitalization by advancing local specialties into the global market.

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