KGC (originally ''Korea Ginseng Corporation'', ''Korea Ginseng Corp.'' Korean : 한국인삼공사, Hanguk Insam Gongsa) is a

ginseng Ginseng () is the root of plants in the genus ''Panax'', such as Korean ginseng ('' P. ginseng''), South China ginseng ('' P. notoginseng''), and American ginseng ('' P. quinquefolius''), typically characterized by the presence of ginsenosides an ...

company in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. KGC's representative ginseng brand 'Cheong Kwan Jang's share in korean ginseng market is known to be dominant around over 80% and also accounted for to be 35% of Korea's total health products market in 2011. KGC produces popular Korean Red Ginseng products under the brand name,'Cheong Kwan Jang' in such different format as Korean Red Ginseng Heaven/Earth/Good, Korean Red Ginseng Extract, Korean Red Ginseng Powder, Honeyed Korean Red Ginseng Slices, Korean Red Ginseng Tonic, etc in order to meet with consumers various demand. It has expanded outside Korea, especially into the East Asian market like

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. KGC is a subsidiary company of

KT&G KT&G Corporation (), originally Korea Tobacco & Ginseng, is the leading tobacco company in South Korea with annual sales over US$4 billion. KT&G was originally a government-owned monopoly but was privatized and today is publicly traded, competing ...

, and its two headquarters are in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

and

Daejeon Daejeon () is South Korea's fifth-largest metropolis, with a population of 1.5 million as of 2019. Located in the central-west region of South Korea alongside forested hills and the Geum River, the city is known both for its technology and ...

History

Korean Ginseng Corporation was founded in 1899 Samjungkwa was established as the forerunner of the Korean Ginseng Corporation. And in 1908 the company was monopolized. Fast-forward to the 1940's KGC's brand of Korean Red Ginseng, CKJ, is known as Cheong-Kwan-Jang in Korea and overseas. This brand name goes back to the early 1940s. Because of increased export demand for Korean Red Ginseng at the end of the Japanese colonial period, many fake roots were prospering. To find a way to distinguish real ginseng, the Monopoly Bureau of the Japanese General Government began using the label "Cheong-Kwan-Jang," which is translated as "officially government approved." The sale of KGC was a government monopoly from 1899 to 1996. Since then, KGC has held its position at the top of the market, even though the name has changed from the Monopoly Bureau to Korea Tobacco & Ginseng Corporation, and finally to KT&G subsidiary Korea Ginseng Corp.

KGC Global

KGC products are now exported to over 40 countries. KGC also has overseas branches in the USA, China, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia.

Sports

In September 2010, parent company

transferred the ownership and naming rights of its sports teams to KGC. All teams were renamed accordingly. KGC sponsors the following teams: *

Anyang KGC The Anyang Korea Ginseng Corporation ( ko, 안양 KGC인삼공사), or Anyang KGC, is a professional basketball club in the Korean Basketball League, based at Anyang Arena in the city of Anyang. The club has won three KBL championship titles, in ...

(men's basketball) – based in

Anyang Anyang (; ) is a prefecture-level city in Henan province, China. The northernmost city in Henan, Anyang borders Puyang to the east, Hebi and Xinxiang to the south, and the provinces of Shanxi and Hebei to its west and north respectively. It had a ...

Daejeon KGC Daejeon Korea Ginseng Corporation ( ko, 대전 KGC인삼공사) is a South Korean professional women's volleyball team. The team was founded in 1988 and became fully professional in 2005. They are based in Daejeon and are members of the Korea Vol ...

(women's volleyball) – based in

* Table tennis (men's team) – based in Anyang * Badminton – based in Daejeon The year 2012 would later be dubbed the "Golden Age of KGC" as its athletes all achieved success that year; its table tennis and badminton players won titles in their respective sport while the women's volleyball team and men's basketball team each won their respective play-off championships.

References

About Korean Ginseng Corporation
- KGC Canada

External links

KGC Homepage
{{SouthKorea-company-stub Dietary supplements