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Korea Ginseng Corporation is a “superior company” that leads the global ginseng business. From a thousand years ago, ginseng has been Korea's representative national trade product. The Korean government has maintained the “red ginseng monopoly system” by switching to a government-managed system in order to foster and protect “red ginseng”, the highest grade ginseng in a policy manner. In accordance with the policy of privatizing the red ginseng business in the late 1990s, the Korea Ginseng Corporation was launched on January 1, 1999, continuing its 111-year history and tradition. Based on the world's largest & highest level manufacturing facilities and R&D headquarters, we are leading the continuous growth of the global ginseng market and modern scientific ginseng efficacy research.
A brief history of Korea Ginseng Corporation is as follows:
In the beginning of our history, Korean ginseng had been exported to Shanghai and elsewhere in China since 1900 via the exclusive consignment distributor, Samjeong Production Co., Ltd., formed following the monopolization of Korean red ginseng in 1899, the original seed organization of KGC. As privately produced red ginseng and forgeries became prevalent at the end of the Japanese empire in the early 1940s, a Bureau of Monopoly of JoseonChongdokbu (the Japanese Government-General in Joseon) established the use of the mark of "Cheong-Kwan-Jang" on the label of Korean ginseng exports, which had been governmentally recognized as authentic. The issuance of the Cheong-Kwan-Jang brand differentiated this ginseng from non-government-sanctioned products and indicated a trusted, reliable product.
A brief history of Korea Ginseng Corporation is as follows:
1899 Established as Sam-Jeong-Gwa (Ginseng Management Division) within the royal palace of Korea's Daehan Empire (36th year of the reign of King Gojong).
1908 Ginseng Division transferred to the Bureau of Taxation, Ministry of Finance. Korean Red Ginseng Monopoly Law enacted.
1940 Began to use the trademark "Cheong-Kwan-Jang." It was first used on the label of red ginseng manufactured by the Bureau of Monopoly of the Joseon Chongdokbu (the Japanese Government-General in Korea) to distinguish government authorized red ginseng from privately manufactured red ginseng products and from forgeries. It since been used as Korea Ginseng Corporation's trademark to indicate products manufactured from KGC's 6-years-old Korean red ginseng.
1948 Transferred to the Department of Monopoly of the Ministry of Finance. 1951 Moved the Gaesong Monopoly Branch to Buyeo, Chungnam province during the Korean War.
1952 Organizational status promoted to Monopoly Bureau.
1978 Completed construction of the Korea Ginseng Factory in current Buyeo.
The mega-facility is the largest ginseng processing plant in the world. 1987 Reformed as Korea Monopoly Corporation.
1988 Authorized for Drug Manufacturing and Drug Product Licensing.
1989 Established the Korea Tobacco & Ginseng Corporation.
1994 Established the Korea Tobacco & Ginseng Hong Kong Ltd.
1995 Recognized as adhering to or surpassing KGMP (Korea Good Manufacturing Practice) standards.
1996 The Red Ginseng Monopoly Law was abolished.
1999 Re-established as Korea Ginseng Corporation.
2000 KGC red ginseng selected as Korea's Millennium Product.
2001 Nominated and selected as a Korean World-Class Product.
2003 Established KGCUS Branch office.
2006 Established KGC Japan Branch office.
2007 Established KGC China (Shanghai) Branch office.
2009 Re-organized the foreign KGC US Branch office into a local California domestic corporation (KGCUS) to better serve North America.
2011 Established KGC Canada Branch, under the North American KGCUS regional corporation