Man Finds Colossal Wild Ginseng Root

A super heavy 131-gram wild ginseng root has been found.

On June 8, the Korean ginseng research association said, Lee (60, Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province) identified by his surname, and three of his family members came into an unexpected fortune on the way to pick wild greens at Mt. Taebaek.

They picked 28 ChonJong ginseng roots, including a large root of 131 grams near a rock where they were resting, after searching a one-kilometer radius from there.

The association says that the 131-gram one is the heaviest ginseng ever discovered in the country.

Eight of the roots are estimated to be as old as 60-70 years and weigh 100-130 grams, while the other 20 roots weigh less than 100 grams. Usually, 100-gram ginseng roots are worth over 50 million won.

The association is set to appraise them on June 11 and they will go to public auction on June 17. It estimates all of the 28 roots will fetch more than 500 million won.

Mr. Lee goes climbing often after going into bankruptcy several years ago because of his failed business and debt payment guarantee. He found two roots of wild ginseng last year, too.

Afraid of exposing his identity, Lee told his close friend “ I have no secret way to find wild ginsengs and moreover, I am not a professional ginseng-digger. I dreamt no special dream even the day before I got to have the wild ginseng. It seemed like just one of those ordinary days to me.”

“The Lees originally decided to eat them, but they changed their mind after getting to know the exorbitant price of the roots. I understand that the Lees plan to donate some money from the ginsengs,” Park Sung-min, representative of the ginseng research association, said.

Se-Jin Jung mint4a@donga.com