Ginseng Festival in Geumsan

This is the one of the logos for the town of Geumsan.

This Sunday I went to the International Ginseng Expo in Geumsan (about an hour and a half from Cheonan). Ginseng is a really important product here in Korea and I understand much better the health benefits and why it is so important. I'm not usually a big fan of ginseng--I usually find it to be quite bitter but I found some ginseng products I like (for example, those made of Hongsam, which is a milder ginseng) and realized what a difference eating fresh ginseng can make.

Samgyetang: Chicken Soup with ginseng and lots of other healthy ingredients (Delicious and good for you!)

Selling fresh ginger

Korean ginseng grows for 6 years so it contains a larger amount of saponins. After 6 years, the ginseng looks like a human, thus the name "insam" in Korean or "human-shaped plant".

A Russian electric violin group

This is how ginseng grows in the U.S. and Canada

This is how ginseng is grown in China

This is how ginseng is grown in Korea

Deep-fried ginseng (Delicious!)

Some of the many products made from ginseng

Cheonan Dance Festival Street Parade

This weekend is the annual International Dance Festival here in Cheonan. Last night I saw the street parade with all of the different teams from each different country. Countries included Korea, Japan, China, Mexico, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, and countries from the Russian federation.

Enjoy!